


Pardon the way that I stare, there's nothing else to compare

by TheSpaceHairAndTheSpaceIdiot



Category: Doctor Who RPF
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-30
Updated: 2016-03-25
Packaged: 2018-05-04 06:52:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 28,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5324651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSpaceHairAndTheSpaceIdiot/pseuds/TheSpaceHairAndTheSpaceIdiot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They were about halfway through the allotted time for the panel and most of the questions so far had been aimed towards he and Alex. He had to admit they'd probably taken their usual flirty bantering and innuendo just a bit too far on a couple of the questions and he was sure his agent would want to strangle him if he were here, but it was the most fun Matt had had all week. There was only one tiny problem:</p><p>He couldn't stop staring at Alex.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The sight of you leaves me weak, there are no words left to speak

**Author's Note:**

> This is something I've had banging around in my head since May and I was finally motivated to write it. It takes place during the Whoniverse Perth panel, only it obviously has some liberties taken. In addition to the obvious changes, I also played around with the schedule of the day a bit and both Matt and Alex are single here. Thanks to hellogumdrop for brainstorming with me all those months ago and to xhellnhighheelsx for reading it over and soothing my writer's anxiety. The second part will hopefully be up in about a week, maybe two. Title is from "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" by Frankie Valli. Enjoy!

_'This is more like it' ,_ Matt thought to himself, grinning from ear to ear as laughter rang out from the crowd. After two events earlier in the week consisting of sitting on the stage alone, it was a nice change to get to join Alex and Freema for a Q &A session. Solo panels were great too, but it was definitely more fun to have other people to work off of, especially seeing as this was his first experience having Alex with him at a convention.

The fans, of course, loved it. Having the Doctor and River Song - and he had gotten the impression that even just having he and Alex, outside of their characters - reunited before them had been a bigger draw than anyone had expected and the crowd showed its enthusiasm. They were about halfway through the allotted time for the panel and most of the questions so far had been aimed towards he and Alex. He was starting to feel a bit bad for Freema, who so far had only screened a few general questions aimed at the group of them, but she seemed content enough to sit back and let he and Alex take the reins, enjoying the drinks the staff brought our for the three of them.

He had to admit they'd probably taken their usual flirty bantering and innuendo just a bit too far on a couple of the questions and he was sure his agent would want to strangle him if he were here, but it was the most fun Matt had had all week. There was only one tiny problem:

He couldn't stop staring at Alex.

This wasn't a new issue by any means. For as long as he'd known her, Alex had captured his full, unwavering attention, drawing his gaze whenever she was in the room. But right now, they were on a stage, in front of countless people, and he was more than a little afraid he was drawing attention to himself. He'd tried to prepare himself for sharing a stage with her, and he'd honestly thought he'd be fine until the day had actually come.

The biggest problem was that she was wearing the same top she had at the last event - the olive green vest with the double zipper in front. It was those zippers that were putting thoughts in his head - thoughts that were very, _very_ non-conducive to holding a conversation or looking like anything but a lovestruck idiot. Thoughts about undoing those damned zippers in order to reach the smooth, golden skin beneath them, possibly, _preferably_ , with his mouth, the little pieces of metal clenched between his teeth, one right after the other, floated pleasantly through his mind - but made it difficult to focus on the panel he was meant to be participating in.

When the audience burst into laughter, Matt was jolted from his thoughts, coming to the quick and safe conclusion that Alex had probably said something filthy. Disappointed that he'd missed it, he plastered a grin onto his face and nodded vaguely to show his amusement.

He forced himself to listen attentively to the next question - asking about how they'd each gotten into acting. Simple enough and Matt mentally readied his standard answer, but Freema took it first and then Alex after her. Which of course, was when he'd gotten sucked back into staring at her, his chin propped up on his palm. He was still listening, but he was allowed to listen and _look_ at the same time, after all. He laughed along with the crowd as she spoke about her love of dressing up and did his best to _not_  imagine her dressed as a barrister or a stewardess or in any number of other, even sexier costumes. It didn't work so well.

He was still trying to banish the thoughts from his head when he realized that it was then his turn to tell his own story. He took a moment to get his bearings back together, but he was hampered when he glanced back at Alex.

It started out completely innocent in his mind. He hadn't had any ulterior motive. He hadn't even stopped to think about it at all - he'd just happened to see her quickly rub her own bare arms as a brief look of uncomfortableness crossed her face. Both were over so quickly he wasn't even sure they'd actually happened. Instead of answering the question posed to him, the words he spoke into the microphone he held in his hand were spoken directly to Alex.

"Are you cold?"

A look of surprise passed over Alex's face. She turned around swiftly, as if checking there weren't someone behind her he could be speaking to. When she'd determined that of course he was speaking to her, she struggled to find words for a moment. "I - well - yes, a bit - I mean, it's a bit chilly in here, but I'm all right." She eyed him strangely, almost suspiciously.

It was then that Matt immediately jumped from his chair and shrugged his way out of his denim jacket. It only made sense after all. They always jacked up the air in these places and he had another layer on beneath. It wasn't like he was literally giving her the shirt off his back (though he probably would if necessary). He turned, and ignoring the sounds of adoration from the crowd, hauled the jacket up around Alex's head. As he wrapped it tightly around her shoulders, he couldn't help muttering, "Of course you're cold. How is it that top of yours has _two_ zippers but _no_ bloody sleeves?"

He'd left his own microphone laying on the side table in between his beer and tea, but Alex had frozen in place the moment he stood up and her mic caught his words easily, causing the audience to laugh. Alex, however, finally coming back to her senses, protested. "No, no, no! Matt, darling, I'm fine! Here," she set her microphone down and made to take the jacket off her shoulders and return it to him, her words now muted to the audience, "take it back!"

But Matt had already flopped back down into his own chair and picked up his microphone. He shrugged his shoulders helplessly. "Nope, already sitting down, Kingston, can't be bothered to get back up and put the thing on again. You'll just have to keep it now," he said with a smirk. Seeing her still sitting in her seat but with her hands clasping both sides of the jacket, holding it just above her shoulders, obviously still of half a mind of returning it to him, he wagged his finger sternly at her. "I'm not taking it back until this is over and don't you dare take it off and leave it to the side, that's just a waste!"

She rolled her eyes and muttered something under her breath. She still hadn't picked up the microphone so the audience and even Freema, sitting on the other side of Matt, couldn't hear her, but he distinctly heard the word "insufferable" and grinned even wider. She was smiling despite her verbal annoyance and it was only about a second later that a small, playful, slightly mischievous smile formed on her face. Instead of just sitting the jacket back on her shoulders, like he'd done, she stretched her arms back and slid them one-by-one into the sleeves and wrapped the too-large-for-her jacket securely around her middle. She picked her microphone up and sat back, arms crossed delightedly across her chest. In an all-too-pleased voice, she said, "Fine, have it your way. You do realize now that the chances of you getting this back anytime soon are _extremely_ slim, right?"

He let out a bark of laughter, and before he'd considered the ramifications of speaking so candidly on stage at a convention, said, "Well, that's not entirely surprising. You never did return that shirt of mine you took from my flat, did you?"

Instantly, there was a roar of sound from the crowd. Laughter, cheering, "oohing", applause, it all burst forth from the audience the moment the words left his mouth and he immediately understood the misconception that could be read into his words. They had come out sounding _much_ more suggestive than he'd intended.

Face turning bright red, but also obviously hit with a bad case of the giggles, Alex buried her face in her hands. "Oh God, no!" she moaned, filled with both laughter and embarrassment, leaning down over her knees to further hide her already-hidden face.

Matt's face burned red, and he was hit with a bout of his own giggles at the same time a horrible jolt went through his stomach at the implication he'd accidentally made. "No!" he shouted in a rush, throwing his hands out to the side exaggeratedly, still unable to get the smile off his face despite the embarrassment of his gaffe. He was grinning because he _was_ embarrassed, because his innocent mistake _was_ funny, but also because the mental image of Alex ever being _his_ , of stealing his shirt one morning after leaving his bed was just too good to _not_ smile at. He quickly looked to the side, and even Freema was sitting there with her mouth formed into a shocked and scandalized _"O"_ , though how much that was staged for fun and effect and how much was genuine scandalized surprise, he couldn't tell exactly.

"No! Not - not like _that_! You've taken that completely out of context! What is with _Perth_? Everyone's mind is in the gutter today! No, no, Kaz and Darvill and I somehow got Alex here to come to a little party at my flat after filming one night - just the four of us - and someone spilled their drink on her, so she went and stole one of my shirts from my room to change into - and _never returned it_! That's the point here! Bloody thief, she is!" He laughed his way through the entire explanation, his hand covering half his face as he spoke. The audience was still laughing uproariously, so Matt took the opportunity to sneak a glance back over at Alex.

She seemed to have recovered quite well in the thirty or so seconds since he'd last been able to bring himself to look at her. A big, playful, and incredibly sexy grin was plastered on her face. She was still giggling, but her shoulders were no longer shaking with suppressed laughter and she had stopped hiding her face. He was lucky she was obviously taking the situation in stride, finding the humor in it instead of being angry over his accidental insinuation. In fact, she held her mic back up to her face once the last of the cheers and laughter had died down and playfully said, "What Matt failed to mention in that little anecdote of his, of course, is that he, being the incredibly clumsy, hyperactive _puppy_ that he is _ _,_ _ is the one who spilled his drink on me. So no, considering my blouse was _ruined_ , I felt no shame at all in borrowing one of his shirts and simply forgetting to ever return it. It was quite cozy - just like this jacket. I might have to start a collection."

Ignoring the renewed laughter from the audience, Matt's brain went instantly to picturing Alex wearing his old t-shirt. It wasn't a particularly special shirt on its own. It didn't even have any sort of print on it, just a basic dark grey tee, not unlike the plain purple one he was wearing now. Granted, he remembered he'd only just gotten the neck stretched out perfectly at the time, but he'd never actually minded that Alex had commandeered it after that night. He'd never even really thought on it again after that. But now, especially with Alex in front of him, wearing _his_ jacket, which was an image that was a hell of a lot sexier than he'd ever imagined it could be, he couldn't help but wonder if she'd ever worn the shirt again once she got back to her own flat all those years ago. If she'd taken it back to LA with her. If she'd worn it around the house. Worn it to bed even...

Feeling rather stupidly stuck on the subject, he watched Alex pick her drink up from the side table as he raised the mic to his mouth. "What? Do you mean you still have it?" he asked, the words leaving his mouth slowly, his brain still lost in thought. He hoped it sounded more like a merely curious question, instead of one fueled by the grossly inappropriate thoughts running wild through his head at the moment.

Alex looked over at him, then glanced back at the audience, trying to decide how best to answer him. Still contemplating him, she took a delighted sip from her gin and tonic, after which she made an almost sinful sound of pleasure that sent shivers down Matt's spine, and looked back at him, an almost evil glint in her eye. When she opened her mouth, her voice had dropped a full octave as she adopted her patented Voice of Sex.

" _Spoilers_."

The naughty and seductive look on her face dropped almost instantly as she burst out into another set of embarrassed giggles. At the same time, the crowd exploded once more into a round of applause, laughter, and cheering.

For his part, Matt did the only thing he could do under the circumstances: he gaped at her for a full two seconds, then grinned unabashedly and burst in laughter once again. He threw his hand over his face to try and maintain a semblance of composure as his mind swirled with a dozen different positively delightful scenarios he could construct out of that one word.

As soon as she'd recovered again, Alex then saw fit to steer him back to the panel they were supposed to be leading. "Now come on, didn't you have a question to answer? I think the poor girl has waited long enough and Freema and I have already answered. Your turn now!"

"And this is the thanks I get for trying to be a _gentleman_!" Matt huffed faux-exasperatedly to himself, starting to gain control of his breathing and come back to himself. He then instantly brightened and forced himself to focus again. "But right, yes, back to the question answering, of course. Sorry for the interlude everyone! Back to the question. The question... the question..." He scratched absently at his chin, trying to remember what it was he was supposed to be answering, which considering the fact that Alex was still sitting next to him, shrouded gorgeously in his denim jacket, her eyes still bright and fixed happily on him, and that his brain was running rampant, straight in her direction, was not working out all that well. He gave up and let out a self-deprecating sigh. "Erm... what was the question again?"

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Once Matt got himself back on track, the remainder of the panel passed by quickly and easily. There were several more laughs to be had, most of them not completely at his expense, which was always nice. Yet another bonus of having co-conspirators up on stage with him.

Once the panel ended and he, Alex, and Freema made their way backstage, Alex was instantly distracted by Salome, who'd been watching from the monitors and was now bounding over to congratulate them on another panel finished. Freema walked away to grab a drink before the next event of the day - a schedule mixup had caused the photo sessions on this leg of the tour to be held after the panel, instead of before like all the others, and they had to get started on those almost immediately. Matt was happy to hang back and watch the tail end of Alex's interaction with her daughter. He just hadn't expected to be the topic of conversation..

"I can't believe he just gave you his jacket! He's been wearing that all _week_ !" he heard the girl gush. "I haven't seen him without it _once_ since we got here. I thought it was glued to him!"

"Yes, I know," Alex responded, glancing playfully in his direction out of the corner of her eye, noticing him watching their exchange. "Although that certainly explains the smell. Have you _ever_ washed this before, darling?" she called the short distance over to him.

Matt started at the jab, instantly zeroing in on Alex with a glare. "Hey! I'm offended! I give you my favorite jacket, right off my back, because you're about to freeze to _death_ , and you insult the _cleanliness_ of it?" he said, outraged, crossing his arms over his chest. "I'll have you know, that jacket is perfectly clean! Anything you smell off it is all me - nice, lovely... _manly_ smells, and you should feel privileged to even get close enough to sniff it!

They both burst into laughter at his words, Alex resting her hand on Salome's back as the girl doubled over. Matt could do nothing but allow his stern expression to drop into something much more akin to delight as he watched them both laughing because of _him_.

"Yes, nice, lovely, manly smells all right," Alex managed to chuckle after a minute, waving to Salome, who had recovered from her laughter and was now walking away to join Freema at the refreshment table, leaving he and Alex alone. He took the opportunity to walk over next to her properly as she continued speaking. "I can think of very few 'nice and lovely' smells that I would also associate with the word ' _manly_.'"

"Oh, go ahead and mock, Kingston. I expect nothing less."

"And I was hardly freezing to death!" she said pointedly, as if she'd almost forgotten she'd wanted to say it. As she spoke, the fond and amused smile still gracing her lips, she started to pull her arms from the sleeves of his jacket, obviously intending to hand it over, her teasing words on stage apparently forgotten. "They just had the air on a bit higher than I would have liked... but thank you anyway. It was very sweet of you to hand your jacket over like that."

Her words became very soft near the end as she thanked him and Matt was pleasantly surprised when she leaned in, placing a kiss on the corner of his mouth. Matt had noticed her sudden movement at the last second and jumped in surprise slightly, so he wasn't entirely sure whether she'd meant to do that exactly or whether she'd been aiming for a perfectly normal cheek kiss. But he'd take it either way, he thought to himself as he broke out into yet another wide grin, the skin where her lips had touched his tingling pleasantly.

She now held the jacket out to him dutifully, standing with her back perfectly straight, clearly expecting him to take it. "What happened to me never getting it back again?" he asked with a smirk, failing to reach out and take it from her.

"Oh, I was just teasing! Of course I wouldn't just keep it! It's yours! And like Salome said, you've worn it every last minute since we got here. It's practically iconic now! So here," she said softly, gesturing for him to take it again.

"Nah, you keep it, Kingston. We still have most of the day ahead of us after all and I don't think that vest is gonna magically grow sleeves anytime soon." Truth was, he just loved the image of her wearing it. Yes, it obscured the glorious olive top with the two zips that had been eating away at his imagination earlier, but to be honest, that was probably a good thing. Though he doubted his problem with staring at her was going to be helped at all anyway. There was something inherently sexy about Alex - even sexier than usual, that was - wrapped cozily in his jacket. Hell, that might drive him to distraction even more than the top.

But Alex only shook her head. "Matt, no, don't be ridiculous! I'm not going to _keep_ it! Just take the jacket back!"

Matt's gaze lifted briefly to the other side of the room, where he could see Freema and Salome talking excitedly together and the beginnings of a mad idea started forming in his mind. "Nope. Absolutely not! But how's this - is Freema still taking Sal out tonight?" He'd heard the two of them discussing plans over breakfast in the hotel restaurant this morning. From what he'd been able to gather without interjecting, Salome had taken quickly to Freema, who offered to take her out for a night of fun and bonding.

Alex looked surprised at the turn the conversation had taken. "Yes, they're getting dinner, doing a bit of shopping, and catching a late film. Why?" she asked curiously, one eyebrow raising at him.

"Perfect!" he said excitedly with a clap of his hands, very deliberately not stopping to think about how awfully this idea could blow up in his face in a dozen horrible ways. "Then how about you keep the jacket for the rest of the day - if you were cold out there, you're still gonna need it, admit it - then once we get back to the hotel and they head out for the evening, you come 'round my room to return it and as thanks for my very _generous_ loan, you stick around for room service and drinks?"

Obviously caught off guard by his suggestion, Alex merely stood there and stared at him for a moment, unsure how to respond, the uncertainty in her eyes clear. He could see how his suggestion could come off sounding like he were after something other than some friendly company, but that was decidedly _not_ what this was, he told himself sternly. It was just dinner and catching up between two old, very good friends.

When Alex finally spoke, her tone had turned playful, with more than a hint of naughtiness, which was obviously hiding her uncertainty but only caused Matt's insides to flutter delightedly. "Don't you think you've given people enough of a reason today to think we're sleeping together without having me over to your hotel room for the night?"

Matt could feel his cheeks redden, but he laughed heartily. "Not for the _whole_ night, Kingston! I mean, Salome and Freema will be back eventually, so you've got to leave at _some_ point, right? But not to worry, I can still make it worth your while," he joked shamelessly with a waggle of his eyebrows.

They both shared a laugh, Alex taking the opportunity to slap him on the chest in mock outrage. It was good to have Alex around to flirt with again. Even if it was all joking and for fun, it was still his favorite thing in the world.

"And anyway, you didn't exactly help matters out there, you know. Spoilers? _Seriously_ ?" he said in disbelief. "No, but seriously, Salome will be out for the evening, so you're free, and we both have to eat. I get my jacket back without having to take it now, when you still need it, and we get time to hang out. I feel like we've barely spent any real time alone together on this trip and we haven't had the chance in _ages_. I've _missed_ you. _Please_?" He made use of his best sad puppy dog face, his bottom lip stuck out pathetically and hands clasped together tightly out in front of himself. He gleefully watched her resolve crumble before his eyes.

"Oh, all right! What the hell? You're right, we haven't gotten the chance to really catch up in forever. I've missed you quite a bit myself, to be honest. It'll be fun," she said happily, then broke into a grin to match his own once he let out a shout of excitement. "So what are you thinking? We finish here at six, Salome and Freema should be leaving around seven. Should I just come 'round then?"

"Yes, that's perfect!" he replied enthusiastically, nodding his head. "You pop over at seven, we'll order food, open a bottle or two, and I get to catch up on my Quality Kingston Time. I've had to go far too long without it, so this is brilliant!"

She laughed, shaking her head at his exuberance. "Yes, _quite_ brilliant. I'm rather looking forward to it now." She finally slipped the jacket back on and started fiddling with one of the lower buttons as they stood there grinning at each other. "So I guess I'll see you at seven?" she said, as if they were about to part company.

"Actually, you'll see me in about five minutes - joint photo ops with Mr. and Mrs. Who up first. I'm the Mr. - and you're the Mrs. in case you don't remember," he said smugly, enjoying her faint look of embarrassed surprise at the reminder.

"Right! Of course! I'd almost forgotten we still have a mountain of work left to do. I don't know where my head went! It must be that gin and tonic. They should know better that to serve us alcohol in the middle of the day like that," she said faintly, with a mall, self-deprecating laugh. "Well, I'm just going to go get ready. For the photos, that is. I'll see you in a few!" she finished in a rush. She flashed him one last smile before turning and making her way over to the makeshift dressing rooms down the hall.

Grinning to himself, Matt made his way over to the refreshment table where everyone else was, feeling oddly pleased with himself. This was good. He loved spending time with Alex. They'd have dinner, a few drinks, a lot of laughs, and all would be well. And despite how it may look on paper to some people, it was most assuredly not a date of any sort, so the inherent awkwardness of having her in his room at night wouldn't be a factor.

True, he could barely keep her out of his thoughts even when he wasn't around her. And yes, he may have been openly staring at her for good bit of the day (good bits of the last several days, if he were honest with himself). And also yes, his mind may have strayed into decidedly non-child friendly areas several times today alone (particularly when it came to her in that damn vest... and then the jacket). But he was a grown man. He could put his feelings for and attraction towards Alex to the side and just enjoy the time to catch up with her. It's not like he hadn't been doing exactly that since the day he'd met her.

But then the image of Alex walking into his room wearing his jacket, of her taking it off and showing off the olive top and the double zippers that were simply _begging_ to be clenched between his teeth, of the two of them _alone_ , possibly sitting on his _bed_ instead of the sofa - they all jumped out and flooded his brain and suddenly he was feeling very overheated. How Alex could be _cold_ when he was breaking out in a sweat, he had no idea.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Of course she wore the jacket _during_ the photo ops. _Of course_. He hadn't really considered that when he'd told her to wear it the rest of the day or even when he _reminded_ her of the bloody photos, that she'd be standing there next to him for a considerable length of time, posing for pictures with him and fans wearing _his_ jacket.

He didn't know what it was exactly, either some sort of primal instinct or maybe just a secret kink he'd never realized before, but watching her flaunt around, being her normal friendly, flirty, outrageous self while wearing _his jacket_ made her already maddening levels of pure sexiness skyrocket straight off the charts. How he was able to keep his composure during their photo sessions, he had no idea. And really, in the end, he didn't. He'd been on point enough to get by of course, enthusiastically interacting with the fans, making sure they got the positive experiences they were all looking for. And really, he was pretty sure that even if his obsession with staring at Alex were noticed by any of them, well, they were all paying for a picture with her, so he was sure they could understand the allure.

But every time they actually got close to each other during the process, he hadn't been able to resist reaching out the extra inch or two to brush against her somehow. If his arm were slung around a fan's shoulder and Alex's were on the shoulder of a second person standing next to them, he'd find himself unable to resist the temptation to reach his fingers out to brush against hers. Or if their arms were crossed over a back, he'd press his against hers just a touch more than normal. His favorite moments were when he got to actually stand next to her, because then he could wrap his arm around her without it being out of place. Then for those brief couple of seconds, he could feel the outline of her waist beneath the rough material of the denim and he was pretty sure his grin in those shots was even wider than the rest.

At first, he'd really thought he was getting away with it. That his continued glances and tiny little touches weren't noticeable, even to Alex. That it wouldn't seem out of place at all for their photo op sessions. And maybe no one _else_ noticed, but eventually Alex seemed to cotton on. She'd looked at him strangely a few times and of course they didn't have a spare second where she could _say_ anything, but he'd taken her pointed looks as a hint to stop. Which he did immediately, forcing himself to leave her alone. The last thing in the world he ever wanted to do was make Alex uncomfortable or ruin things between them because he was acting like an infatuated, horny teenager who couldn't keep his hands to himself.

But apparently he'd been wrong about the intent of her looks because she then started touching _him_ . And in more blatantly obvious ways, actually in view of the camera. She would rest her fingers over top of his, on top of a fan's shoulder. She'd stand a touch closer than necessary. Once, she'd even placed both her hands possessively on each of his arms. Never anything inappropriate or out of place to anyone else, but to the two of them, it was very obviously deliberate.

Eventually, he mustered up the courage to start touching her again, equally retaliating what she did to him, heedless of the fact that _he_ was the one who'd started this little game they were playing. He'd brush against her arm, she'd clutch onto his bicep. She'd trace nonsense designs over the back of his hand, he'd stroke his fingers secretly over her hip where no one could see. At one point, she placed her hand on his very lower back, just on top of his tailbone. Not _quite_ on his arse, but close enough to cause him to turn a shade of red and jump in surprise with a strangled yelp that necessitated the faking of a coughing fit to the bewildered camera operator and line attendant.

As soon as that particular photo was done and over with, he took the split second before the next fan wandered over to shoot her a glare. She only smirked naughtily and went back to pretending nothing unusual were happening between them.

Of course he followed up a minute later with sneaking his hand stealthily up beneath both the jacket and her top, brushing his fingers up her bare skin all the way up to her bra strap, which he gave a flick before running his fingers back down her heated flesh. He relished the involuntary shudder she gave as he did so, her spine shivering under his hand. He wished he could have snuck his hand around the front and played with the bottom zip of her vest, like he'd been dying to do all day, but her front was always facing the camera. There was no way he'd be able to get away with that. Her back was more than a decent substitute, however. The heated glare Alex sent his way the next time no one was looking closely certainly seemed to be fueled by something other than anger.

Matt's body temperature had to have risen several degrees by that point and he was greatly appreciative when the time came for Freema to join them for the trio photo session, because he honestly wasn't sure if he would be able to hold back on having a more physical reaction to Alex if their game went on uninterrupted much longer. And that would certainly _not_ be the highlight of his career - getting a raging erection in the middle of a photo op session at a convention, with his co-star and a gaggle of fans practically pressed up against him.

No, with Freema right next to them, this... this... _whatever_ it was between he and Alex had to be doused, and while it had been fun - if entirely nerve-wracking - he didn't know how much further it would have gone without the buffer of someone else joining them, how far it could have gone without someone else finally noticing the two stars were practically feeling each other up, how far Alex _wanted_ it to go...

Because that was the _real_ question, wasn't it? Was this actually some sort of game to her? A slightly more amped up version of the Uncomfortable Touch Game they'd taken great pleasure in torturing each other with on set? There was one particular memory of him playing dead on a beach and both of Alex's hands trailing very high up on his thigh and over his pelvis while the cameras rolled that came to mind as being similar to what was happening now.

Or was it something else to her? Something more? Matt didn't want to get his hopes up - especially after all this _time_ \- only to make a fool of himself... but this felt different than all their usual flirtation and teasing and touchy-feely nature. This felt like it had intent behind it. On the other hand, Alex was nothing if not an incredible actress and a mighty flirt who loved little more than making people, him especially, flustered. He honestly didn't know what to think.

As soon as Freema joined them, everything went back to perfectly normal. They still occasionally touched or otherwise brushed against each other - it was unavoidable during this sort of thing - but the contact was no longer heated or loaded with intent or suggestiveness. Matt felt his blood settle back down to a simmer from the boiling point it had been at a minute or two before and breathed a sigh of relief. Sure, Alex was still Alex and she still flirted with him, still flirted and joked with practically everyone who came for a picture in her own unique way, nearly every word she spoke laced with seduction and innuendo, but that was just the way Alex interacted with people. If anything, it calmed his nerves to see her still acting perfectly normal, with him and with everyone else.

By the time his solo photo ops came along, he was back to feeling normal, able to - temporarily at least - put Alex and whatever was or was not happening between them out of his mind. He put up peace signs and brandished toy sonics and made funny faces for every single one, complimenting costumes and exchanging as much friendly dialogue with each person as was possible in the three second intervals they had him for.

After several more hours, they finally got through the rest of the photos and the even longer and more exhausting process of signing autographs. There were no other heated moments between he and Alex, but there also hadn't been any other opportunity, so Matt didn't know what to make of that.

When it came time to pack into the cars for the ride back to the hotel, Alex was led by her daughter into a car with Freema, Matt made to follow them but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder, turning him in the direction of a second car.

"That one's full, which you'd be able to see if you paid any attention, you daft idiot," came the voice of his best mate, Alex Bond. Matt had brought him along to Australia so he'd have a bit of company on his tour through the Outback, uncertain how much time he'd end up spending with his co-attendees. They'd had a blast together so far, but the disorientation of having two Alexs he was close to around him constantly was one he hadn't entirely thought through before arriving. Matt may call the female Alex by her last name often enough, but it still got damn confusing at times. It was at least good for an occasional laugh.

Obviously seeing the tension in Matt's frame and his urge to make his way over to the first car anyway, despite the knowledge of it already being full, his friend clasped his hands on Matt's shoulders, forcing him to turn and move in the other direction. "Come on, you spent all bloody day staring at her. Ten minutes in the car without her to drool over won't kill you."

"I wasn't staring at her! And I certainly wasn't _drooling_!" Matt protested hotly under his breath, trying to make sure none of the staff hovering around them overheard. He reluctantly allowed himself to be dragged over to the second car, which he was unceremoniously pushed into by his laughing friend.

"Yeah, you definitely were. And you weren't subtle about it. At all."

Matt fumbled to settle his limbs comfortably in the car while Alex walked around the car to get in on the other side. As soon as he was also seated, Matt shot him a glare. "Piss off."

His friend laughed. "Don't blame me. You're the one making a spectacle of yourself out there! I know you've been mad about her for ages, mate, and honestly, after finally meeting her, I _get_ it, honestly, but you'd think that would have faded a bit by now. You haven't seen her in forever! I mean, what's it been? Two years?"

Matt shook his head. "Doesn't matter. A woman like her, she stays with you no matter how long it's been. I think about her enough when I'm not with her, but now that we're together again... everything's just come bubbling back up to the surface again." He shook his head and let out a deep sigh. He turned to look out the window, searching despondently for the driver so they could get moving back to the hotel.

But his friend wasn't content to let him stew. "Nope, I'm not just gonna let you sit here and get all gloomy, we've got to raise your spirits. How about we go out tonight? Find a bar or a club? You've got tomorrow free, so you can get smashed guilt-free. Maybe we can even find a bird to distract you with for the night."

Any other night, Matt probably would have agreed. It would be good to get out, away from the convention centers and hotels, just him and his mate, out to have a few drinks. Hell, more than a few. The numbing bliss of alcohol would be a welcome relief with the mess of a state his mind was currently in. And like his friend suggested, maybe even find some gorgeous, uncomplicated girl to take his mind off the woman he couldn't actually have.

But tonight he had plans with Alex Kingston. Uncertainty over whether he'd started something during those photo ops that would only blow up in his face and add another - and likely final - heap of disappointment on him where she was concerned or not, he had no intentions of breaking those plans. Yes, he'd suggested dinner as a completely platonic offering, but now, after her looks and her touches back there, it sort of felt like the stakes for tonight had been raised. Or he was reading way too much into Alex's playfulness. Which he was almost positive he was and so was preparing himself, but a bloke could still keep an _ounce_ of hope, couldn't he?

"Can't tonight. I've got plans."

His friend huffed at his side, not believing him. "What plans could you have possibly made that I don't know about?"

Matt paused for a second, knowing how he would react. "I'm having dinner. With Kingston."

" _Seriously_?" Alex gaped at him. "The two of you are having dinner tonight? _Alone_? So... it's a da-"

"No!" Matt cut him off vehemently. "She'd coming by my room to return my jacket and then we're gonna have dinner and drinks and just... catch up. Two old _friends_. It's definitely _not_ a date." He paused, his mind running through all the details of the day. "At least I don't _think_..."

"Ha!"

" _Shut it._ "

"Come on! You just spent most of the day flirting with each other and staring at each other and don't think I didn't notice the two of you being all over each other during those photos. And now tonight she's coming over to your _hotel room_ to return a jacket she _easily_ could have just given to you now before we left. And you're having dinner and drinks? _Alone?_ I don't know what sort of dates you've been going on lately, mate, but to most sane people, that sounds like a date!" He paused to laugh as the driver finally - finally - arrived, apologizing for the wait. As they pulled away from the convention center and out onto the road, he spoke again, voice lowered in the vain attempt at keeping their conversation private. "Seriously, though, good on you. Finally convincing her - somehow - to go out with you after all this time? I didn't think you had it in you. Especially after _meeting_ her."

"I haven't convinced her to do anything except have dinner. Which we've done countless times before, I might add," Matt protested. It felt almost futile though, since he knew somewhere in the back of his mind that the specter of tonight felt very different than any of the other times he and Alex had been alone together.

"Yeah, well it's been a _long_ time now since you were both on _Who_. You never know what's changed in the meantime."

 


	2. But if you feel like I feel, please let me know that is real

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He was overthinking things, worrying for no reason. He was letting his imagination get the better of him, just like he had so many times before when it came to Alex. He knew that, and yet he couldn't help it. Alex had always had this effect on him, but it had been so long since he'd been around her that he'd almost forgotten how much just the prospect of being in her presence affected his ability to so much as function normally. He'd always told himself that being her friend was enough for him. But now after two years where they'd fallen largely out of contact, they met up here and she flirted with him and teased him and it had really felt like their time doing the photo ops together had been layered with heat and intent - and not just on his part. He can't have completely imagined that, could he?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... basically I'm the worst? Almost two months without updating is awful. I wrote about half of this in the first week or so, then hit roadblocks, then the Christmas special had me too emotional to write, than I was really sick, and finally got back to work this week. Also, almost half of the next chapter is already done because it was SUPPOSED to be apart of THIS chapter, but I realized this chapter was already going to be absurdly long, and it would be better to split them. So hopefully the last chapter will be up soon! Hope you enjoy!

As soon as he got back to his room, Matt rushed to tidy up before Alex came by. It was already half-six and it wasn't exactly like she had a long commute, seeing as her room was directly across the hall. Luckily, they'd only been in Perth since the bay before, so there hadn't been much time for his things to get strewn about. But still, he hurried around picking up loose items he'd used and then carelessly set down and stray articles of clothing that he'd simply tossed on the floor after shedding the night before. He also made sure to dig the room service menu out of the nightstand next to his bed and place it on the coffee table so he wouldn't forget about it later.

He considered changing into something a bit nicer than the old t-shirt he was wearing but decided against it. No, why would he do that? They were just hanging out, there was no need for him to dress up in any way. Alex would find that strange, it would maybe even make things awkward between them. That's if he hadn't already done that. Or hell, if she even showed up - maybe he'd buggered things up so badly by instigating the touching during their photos that she was rethinking their plans altogether. She hadn't said much of anything directly to him for the rest of the day. Maybe she'd decided that coming over would give him the wrong impression or after reflecting on what had happened, decided she would be uncomfortable being alone with him or... or...

He flopped down onto his bed, buried his face into a pillow, and groaned.

He was overthinking things, worrying for no reason. He was letting his imagination get the better of him, just like he had so many times before when it came to Alex. He knew that, and yet he couldn't help it. Alex had always had this effect on him, but it had been so long since he'd been around her that he'd almost forgotten how much just the _prospect_ of being in her presence affected his ability to so much as _function_ normally. He was always looking for ways to impress her, to please her, to get her to laugh. He wanted to be her friend and he wanted so much more than that in the same instant. He'd always told himself that being her friend was enough for him, that he'd never actually make a move, because the idea that she'd ever be interested was simply laughable. But now after two years where they'd fallen largely out of contact, they met up here and she flirted with him and teased him and it had really felt like their time doing the photo ops together had been layered with heat and _intent_ \- and not just on his part. He can't have _completely_ imagined that, could he?

He stayed laying on the bed just as he was, face still buried in his pillow and his hands clutching at his head. He found himself wishing his hair was longer again so that he could tug at it in frustration. He must have stayed like that much longer than he thought, though, because suddenly there was a knock at the door. _Alex_.

Matt jolted in surprise, twisting his body and then jumping up, trying to get to his feet and let her in. But when he jumped, he somehow managed to misjudge something about the distance from his place on the bed to the floor, because he instantly found himself facedown on the carpet with a loud _THUD._

" _Fucking hell! Ow!_ "

There was another knock, this time more insistent, and he heard Alex's voice call through the door. "Matt, are you all right in there?"

He groaned and pushed himself up off the floor, rubbing his elbow gingerly. He was fine. His perpetual clumsiness had caused him accidents much worse than tripping out of bed. "Yeah, 'm fine. Just be a tick!" he called out to her. He quickly brushed himself off and straightened his clothes. He glanced down at the bed and noticed the now rumpled covers. He considered straightening them out but thought that even to him that looked too much like he was putting the bed on display, perfect and ready to be used. The very last thing he needed right now was the image of Alex _in_ it - or to give her the impression that he _expected_ -

He rushed to the door before that thought could go any further, shaking himself as he went.

He took a deep, steadying breath and opened the door, revealing Alex, smiling somewhat timidly and - ' _Dammit all to hell,_ _she's still wearing the bloody jacket!_ ' How the hell was he supposed to act normally around her when she was still _wearing_ it? It hung loosely around her frame, the sleeves now rolled up so she could properly use her hands. The olive tank that had been occupying his thoughts for days was still visible beneath, but where the bottom zipper had been zipped all the way down for most of the day, now it had been pulled back up a couple of inches, giving him a very tempting glance at a small patch of skin on her stomach. He tried very hard not to think about whether that was purposeful or not.

"Hello. Are you sure everything's all right?" she asked, concern in her eyes. Matt broke out of his stupor and realized he'd been staring.

"Yeah! Yeah, 'course, I'm fine! Come on in, Kingston," he said in a rush. He stepped to the side and let her walk passed him.

"So that loud noise, followed by swearing and a shout of pain came from some _other_ room, despite sounding exactly like you?" she asked with a grin. She walked into the room and took a look around, eventually settling on the sofa.

Matt followed her over and sat in the desk chair across from her. Good. Keeping a bit of physical distance between them was probably best for his mental state. "You know me, Kingston, I'm clumsy enough to trip over me own shadow, but I always pop back on my feet quick enough."

"Are you sure? No open wounds or broken bones we need to be worried about?" she teased.

All of his inhibitions and worry about tonight momentarily flew out of his head and he couldn't stop himself from retorting, "Well, there is one bone in particular I wouldn't mind you taking a look at, Kingston, but you'd have to get a bit closer." He quirked his eyebrow up and gave a subtle nod towards his lap, barely able to hide his smirk.

Alex's eyes widened, no doubt surprised at his brashness, but only for a moment before they hardened with an almost predatory glint. "As tempting as that may be, I'm not entirely convinced I wouldn't be arrested for getting acquainted with that _particular_ bone."

Matt couldn't help it. He flushed. His face kept its composure but he definitely felt his cheeks heat up. No one on Earth could make him blush like Alex did, and he loved it every time. Even more than that though, was when he was able to make her blush in return. He's already managed it earlier during their panel - more than once actually - but this was different. They were _alone,_ for one. "Come on, Kingston, I'm a big boy. I'm sure I could prove to you just how grown up I am."

Now _he_ was surprised by his own brashness. He looked worriedly at Alex. She looked almost impressed, a single eyebrow quirked in interest.

"Oh _could_ you? I'd be rather interested in seeing that." Her voice was amused, definitely filled with a laughter she didn't quite let out, but it didn't seem like she were laughing at the idea, more giddy he'd dared to suggest it. She stared at him pointedly, leaned her elbow on the edge of the sofa, and curled her fingers mischievously over her lips, waiting for him to fire back. He could see a faint, smirking smile threatening to break on her face and he felt rather like he were being dared, challenged on whether he would actually follow through on his promise. He wanted to. _God_ , how he wanted to. But as he felt the seconds tick by, more and more time passing as they only sat in their seats, staring unblinkingly at each other, Matt lost what little nerve he'd geared up.

Feeling like the world's biggest coward, he broke the tension by clapping his hands together and reached towards the coffee table sat between them, grabbing hold of the room service menu. "Course I _could_ , but I'd never dare attempt it on an empty stomach! I'm famished and quite frankly, I'm afraid my performance would be rather disappointing if I were to pass out from hunger before I've proven a damn thing."

He couldn't help the continuation of the flirting. It came naturally to him, even more so when it was Alex he got to do the flirting with. And with things as charged as they'd been today, he had very, very little control over it. But the moment had been broken at least, a lighter, more freeing air circulating around the room now that the flirtation was more of their usual joking nature. Alex hadn't said anything else, nor had she moved. He couldn't tell if she looked at all put out by him breaking the tense air of anticipation or if he only imagined the fleeting look of disappointment in her eyes right before she sat up straight again.

"You're right, it's been a long day. I'm starving too. We should order. What are you in the mood for?" she asked contemplatively.

"Let's take a look!" Deciding that they couldn't both look at the same menu while sitting across from each other, his legs literally bounced him out of his chair at the chance of being closer to her. He plopped down on the sofa next to her, his earlier relief at the space between them forgotten in favor of being mere inches from her. He was close enough that he imagined he could feel the heat radiating off her body and his skin tingled at the thought. Surprised at his sudden movement, Alex twisted on the sofa to face him, pulling her knee up under her body and making herself comfortable again. Matt held the menu out in from of them for them both to read.

But instead of reading the menu, Matt instead looked at Alex out of the corner of his eye, watching her consider the selection carefully. They were touching again now, his outstretched arm brushed against hers and their knees touching since she'd repositioned herself, and that's all Matt's brain was able to focus on. He was starving, absolutely, but he was far more hungry for _her_ than he was for any actual food.

All day he'd been holding back from picturing anything out of the ordinary happening in this room tonight, but now that she was here, in his room, wearing the very same clothing that had been driving him mad all day, brushed up against his side, and engaging in flirty banter, even more risque than their usual fare, he just couldn't stop his mind from wandering. Everything about her was distracting. Her voice, her scent, her ridiculously sexy body, the damningly distracting clothes that covered it, her hair and the way her curls just bounced as if made of actual coils, even the way she was now biting her lip as she gazed at the menu, her nose scrunched up in that adorable way only Alex could manage.

It was all just one perfect storm to drive him to lose the last vestiges of his self-control. He wanted to act, to reach out and touch her, kiss her, anything really that would end this internal struggle of his one way or the other. He was probably only mere moments from having his will broken when she ended the silence.

"All right, I think I'm set. Have you decided yet?" She glanced over at him, her gaze curious. She must have noticed the look of befuddlement on his face, because she followed up with, "No rush or anything. Take your time."

Matt glanced down at the menu, hurriedly setting his eyes on something he knew he'd be fine eating, eager to pretend he'd been focusing on the task at hand these last couple of minutes instead of staring longingly at her. "No, no, I'm good too. What'd you decide on? I'll place the call and order."

Five minutes later, their room service order safely placed, Matt stood helplessly by the hotel phone, unsure what to do now. They were supposed to be talking and catching up after two years of only occasional texts, but he didn't know how to get the ball rolling. This whole day had been a test of his composure and self-control, and now he didn't know what to say. It had been so long since they'd been alone together, since he'd had to practice how to act like a normal, functioning human around her, not surrounded by others to act as a buffer. It wasn't supposed to be this awkward and silent between them. It was _wrong_.

His eyes darted around the room in search of an icebreaker of some sort, avoiding Alex's equally uncertain gaze from her spot curled up on the tiny sofa. His eyes finally landed on the minibar in the corner, where he'd stashed a bottle of wine he'd gotten from the hotel restaurant on his way upstairs.

"How about a drink while we wait?" he asked hurriedly. Without waiting for a response, he dashed over to the minibar and pulled the bottle out, followed by two glasses supplied by the hotel, barely even registering her words of approval. When he turned back around, bottle and glasses clutched in his hands, Alex was eying him keenly, sitting up straight again. He walked back over to her and sat at her side again.

"Here we are!" he said happily, setting the glasses down and starting to pour wine into each. He picked both glasses up and handed one out to her. "I did stipulate dinner _and_ drinks and dinner will take a while to get here."

Alex took the glass from him with a smile. "Thank you, darling."

He grinned back. "My pleasure." He held his glass out in front of himself. "To old friends, reunited again."

Half a beat passed during which Alex only looked at him soberly and he was just starting to worry that he'd said the wrong thing, when she gave a small, demure smile and raised her glass, clinking it against his, and echoing part of his toast, "To old friends."

Relieved, Matt took a sip of his wine, enjoying the instant soothing effect it had on him. Keeping his glass in one hand, he turned to face her and made himself comfortable against the back of the sofa, his unused arm resting across the back of it carelessly. Alex, for her part, was huddled against the arm of the sofa, her legs folded beneath her, her green skirt hiding them almost completely from view. Her smile looked a bit distant, but Matt reasoned he was probably imagining that. She seemed happy enough overall.

"So, Kingston, fill me in. How've things been?"

With that absolute belter of an opener, the conversation surprisingly started to flow. Alex started filling him in on her life, focusing primarily on Salome and her upcoming transition to high school and regaling tales of slumber parties filled to bursting with teenage girls, all with a smile on her face. Everyone knew the best way to get Alex talking and feeling at ease was to get her on the subject of her daughter, so Matt was especially pleased to hear the details. Between the conversation and the wine, the earlier awkwardness had vanished. An air of relaxation and comfort had settled between them faster than he'd honestly expected, considering the tension between them throughout the day.

Eventually, Alex moved on to telling him about work, her upcoming projects and auditions and all the travel she'd have to do for it all. "And they've got me back in England in July to do an audio series with River, so that should be exciting - but they haven't announced it yet, so you can't say anything!"

At this point Matt was so engrossed in admiring the way her hands moved about in front of her when she was excited that he almost didn't catch what she'd said, but the words "England", "series", and "River" registered in his brain. His head shot up instantly, and his jaw went slack.

"Wait, what? What do you mean? What about River?" he demanded, probably a tad bit more aggressively than he'd intended.

Alex blinked owlishly at him, one eyebrow raised in confusion. "Well, I got a call a couple months back and they want me to come-"

Matt's heart plummeted into his stomach and he frantically rushed to cut her off. "You can't go _back_!"

Alex stopped speaking suddenly and only stared at him, a mix of emotions flitting across her face. She set her glass down on the table in front of them and turned to face him again. "Matt-"

"No! No, no, no! I won't have it!" he said defiantly, leaning over to put his glass down next to hers. Just as well, since he's nearly spilled the whole thing down his front in his surprise a moment before. "Capaldi can't have you! You're mine - my Doctor's! Steven _promised_! I _made_ him promise!"

He was being childish, he knew, selfish even, after hearing her say just earlier during their panel that she'd love to go back to the show. But he couldn't help it. A fierce possessiveness came over him whenever the _thought_ of Alex - of River - going off to be some other Doctor's wife flitted through his brain, and here she was, telling him it was actually happening. Images flitted quickly through his brain of Alex in Capaldi's TARDIS, running hand-in-hand with him down a twisting corridor, flirting up a storm just like they used to, _kissing_ him even. That last thought left a distinctly unpleasant taste in his mouth and he found himself shaking his head furiously at the idea.

Alex, for her part, had settled on an emotion, and oddly enough, it seemed to be mirth. She looked positively smug and gleeful for some strange reason. A small but obvious smirk curled on her lips as she watched him carefully. "And whatever happened to 'I'd _love_ River to come back'? What happened to how you used to be against it but now you've changed your mind? Didn't you just say that earlier today?"

He could hear the teasing in her voice clear as day, and normally he'd be fighting off a blush, but this was too important, Goddammit. His pride would have to take a backseat. "I lied!"

Alex let out a gasp of mock surprise. "You lied? Matthew! Why on Earth would you lie about something like that?"

He scowled at her. Properly scowled. "What the hell was I supposed to do? You've been saying all week to everyone who asked that you'd love to go back and then you're sitting right there _next_ to me, saying it again in front of an entire crowd, all of whom I know would love to see you back. I would have looked like a right fucking arse if I'd said what I was really thinking, which is that _he's_ not allowed to have you!"

A beat of silence. And then Alex burst into laughter, her hands instantly coming up to cover her face as she tried to shield him from her utter amusement. "Oh, darling, I'm sorry, but you obviously weren't listening quite carefully enough, because I quite clearly said I was doing an _audio_ series. My own, actually. All focused on River."

He stared at her dumbly, relief flooding his chest. A River Song audio series. No television, no Capaldi. That was all right then. He could live with that without the flames of jealousy tickling up his spine. "Audio?" he breathed happily. "What, Big Finish? Like the Classic Doctors all do? I thought they weren't allowed to touch the new stuff?"

She continued to laugh heartily, her hand coming across the space between them to rub his arm comfortingly. He did his best to ignore the shiver he felt beneath his skin at the contact. "They weren't, but now apparently they are. And they've asked me to come on and do my own series. Not that if Steven were to ask me back to the show properly, I'd turn him down, no matter _how_ devastated that made you," she said with a fond little shake of her head, "but it's not happening now and at this point, I'm honestly not sure it will again. But I'm quite looking forward to this. I go in to record in July and it should just be a ball of a time I think. I've seen summaries and excerpts from some of the scripts and it looks just fantastic!"

Her face looked so damn joyous that Matt simply had to grin back at her. Confronted with that look, he probably would have even if she _had_ been doing the show again. Still, he was choosing to mentally flit quickly past the bit about her going back if asked. He'd always known that to be the case, but it still was most definitely not something he'd prefer to think on. Besides, he _had_ made Steven promise not to bring her back again. As selfish as that made him, he probably didn't have much to worry about. What were the chances they'd bring River back now, after a whole series with the new Doctor and probably most of the way through filming the next?

Shaking himself from his thoughts, he tried to find words to continue speaking. "And it's just River, right? I don't need to call Peter up and have a chat with him about flirting with another man's wife, even if it is just in audio form, do I?"

Alex laughed softly again, shaking her head gently but in a way that still sent her curls bouncing in every direction. That alone pulled a more relaxed smile to his face. "No, no Twelfth Doctor to encroach on your Doctor's territory, I promise. Well, not yet at least. Although, you may not be quite so keen on poor Paul McGann any longer, I fear."

" _McGann_?" he spluttered, his relaxed smile instantly gone again. "They're pairing you with _McGann_? How would that even _work_? He can't know who you _are_?"

But Alex only smirked, naughty and teasing, making his blood pressure rise and not just because he was upset. "That, darling, would be _spoilers_." She never could resist affecting River's voice whenever she said her favorite catchphrase, and this time was no different.

Matt huffed, leaned back so his side was pressed up against the back of the sofa, and crossed his arms petulantly. "Well, I don't like it. On your own, fine, have at it, but no other Doctor's are supposed to have you."

Alex eyes continued to glitter happily at him, but when she slowly shook her head, it was with a small hint of forlorn confusion. "Honestly, Matt, I don't understand you a bit sometimes. I mean, I know you're all possessive because I helped you get through your first days on set and all, but it's not like my acting with another Doctor will change that. Besides, both Peter and Paul have been at this whole Doctor business for a while now. I doubt either of them will need any kind of guiding hand at all, so really, your jealousy is entirely unnecessary, darling."

"No, wait," Matt said quickly, holding his hand out in front of him in T-shaped time out symbol, his heart jumping now up into his throat, making speech a bit difficult. He tried clearing his throat, but it didn't do much good. "You - you think I get all upset about this because you helped me out when I was first starting? That I just don't want you bonding with the others like that? Seriously, not just for show, for the crowds? That's utter shite, Alex, come on." He shook his head, exhaling a very conflicted sort of breathy laugh at the idea. He was petty and childish about this, sure, but he at least had better reasons.

Alex looked rattled. Her face no longer held any traces of amusement and she brought her hand up to run through her hair, pushing it back from where it had started to fall into her eyes so that she could look at him more plainly. It felt for a moment like she were staring into his very soul, searching for something she couldn't put a name to. After a few seconds, she gave the tiniest shake of her head. "I don't understand. Then why?"

And that was when Matt realized the hole he'd dug himself into. Of course he had slightly more understandable reasons for wanting no other Doctor - or any other man, for that matter - near her, but he couldn't very well _explain_ them. That would involve telling her what an idiotic, lovestruck fool he was, how pathetically in love with her he'd been from the start, and he just couldn't bring himself to do that. He found himself only staring at her, gaping like a fish out of water, each ragged breath dragged throguh his chest, each one bringing him one closer to a horrible, suffocating death.

The air around them shifted. The room suddenly seemed a lot smaller. Alex's gaze was on him, intently gazing into his face, and there was the tiniest part of his brain that told him to just confess, come clean and tell her how he felt. Or better yet, just pull her into a searing kiss like he'd been dying to do since she stepped foot in his room. Like he's been dying to do all day, all week even. But he knew without having to give it any major consideration that that wasn't a realistic option. Their interactions earlier in the day had made him bold, but not _that_ bold. But he also couldn't just sit here staring at her all night either. He had no idea what to say, but he had to say something. Alex seemed to have the same thought because her mouth opened at the exact same moment that his did.

"Matt..."

"Alex, I-"

_Knock knock knock._

They were interrupted by the sharp sound of a fist against the door. A voice quickly called out "Room service!"

A single second passed, during which he and Alex continued to sit and stare at one another, but then Matt felt the muscles in his legs springing him from the sofa to rush over to the door, not sparing Alex another glace as he went. He couldn't bring himself to look her in the eye again just yet, terrified and humiliated by how close he'd come to... well, he didn't know exactly. But something big. Something quite terrifying, in one way or another.

He opened the door and greeted the waiter with gusto, the air coming in from the hall filling his lungs anew with that which was not already contaminated with the suffocating stench of his own pathetic idiocy.

He stepped aside and ushered the man in, letting him pass by to set up the trolley carrying silver-domed plates near where Alex was still seated on the sofa, an unreadable expression on her face. He couldn't stop his gaze from flitting over her and searching for a clue as to what she was thinking. She wasn't looking at him - purposefully? - but when she felt his eyes on her, she looked up and forced a casual smile onto her face. She turned and thanked the waiter, which Matt echoed, relieved for the brief reprieve of having an unwitting buffer between them to help dissipate the tension in the room.

Matt was handed the bill to sign, ignoring Alex's suggestion to charge the meal to her room, then tipped the waiter and walked him back to the door. When he turned back around, the door safely shut behind him, Alex was up and moving each of the plates from the trolley to the little coffee table in front of the sofa. There was a tiny round table on the other side of the room with two chairs tucked beneath it, but he supposed the sofa was more comfortable and it's not like he'd ever turn down the chance to sit right next to her, no matter the awkwardness between them, if that's what she'd indicated wanting.

"You should have let me pay." Her tone was pointed but at least held an echo of the light fondness he'd heard in it earlier.

"Nonsense, Kingston. I invited you, this was all my idea, we're in my room. I pay." He settled himself on the sofa, refilling their wineglasses as she took her seat next to him. He couldn't tell if she was sitting any farther apart from him than before or not, but they seemed to be all right.

"But didn't you invite me for dinner as payment for lending me your jacket? You shouldn't have to pay for your own payment," she tried to reason with him.

But Matt was having none of it. "Your _presence_ is my payment. My paying for dinner is me being a gentleman." Alex rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Besides, it's not like you've actually returned the jacket yet. You're still wearing it. I may have to start charging you interest... and the options for repayment in this room are limited."

Of course that left the question of what form said interest payment would take, and Alex's eyebrows raised at his implication. He'd be lying if he said the innuendo in his last sentence was entirely unintentional. This was Alex, and if Matt's natural inclinations were towards innuendo, dirty jokes, and flirtation, then they were triply so when he was around Alex.

But half a second later, Alex burst into a gale of giggles. 'You are _terrible_ , honestly. Does your mother hear the way to talk?"

He grinned broadly. "Are you mad? Mum would have me head on one of these silver platters here if she heard my mouth. That's why I have to get all my kicks in when she's not around. I love me mum, but there are certain parts of a man's life his mother just doesn't belong, and shameless flirting sessions with gorgeous women is one of them," he said, with a laugh of his own. He'd been worried the continued blatant flirting would make things worse, amp up the tension, but they seemed to have had the desired effect of dissipating it instead. Flirting between them was normal, he reminded himself. It was their comfort zone. It's only when things got deeper, more serious, that they had strayed into troubled waters. "Seriously though, the room is warm. You can't still be comfortable in that thing."

"I'd actually forgotten I was still wearing it, to be honest," she chuckled out. "It's very comfortable. If I didn't see all this week how attached you apparently are to it, I probably would have tried to keep it."

"Well, hey, for the right price, Kingston, it's yours," he said with a smirk and a waggle of his eyebrows.

"Oh, hush! Behave! Or I'll call your poor mother and tell her how _awfully_ naughty you've been today!" she said as she slid the oversized denim from her shoulders. Her arms and the rest of that damnable vest were bared to him and he swallowed nervously. Maybe it was better that she kept it on after all, because the image of her in it was just as distracting as her _out_ of it, but at least he'd grown accustomed to her wearing the jacket over the course of the day. She carefully folded it up and passed it over to him. He wanted to bring it closer to his face and smell it, see if it held any traces of her scent, but he acknowledged that would be a tad bit too creepy and settled for tossing it gently onto the chair across from them that he'd sat in earlier.

"You're bluffing. You'd never!" Apparently, despite the fanciness of the room service presentation, they were opting for casual, because Alex had pick up her plate and placed it on her lap as she sat cross-legged on the sofa, facing him. He grabbed his own plate and followed suit.

"On the contrary, I'm a _mum_. Us mums have to stick together. God only knows the horrors she had to put up with raising you. I'm sure the poor woman would appreciate all the help she can get keeping your arse in line." She speared a bit of her fish onto her fork and pointed it at him threateningly as she spoke, then brought it to her mouth to eat. It must have been delicious, because the pleased moan she let out caused Matt's pants to tighten uncomfortably. He tried to stop his body from reacting, but was nonetheless grateful for the serving platter covering his lap.

He cleared his throat as quietly as possible. "That good, eh?"

Alex nodded enthusiastically. "It's delicious! Try yours!"

Once he'd taken a bite of his steak and determined that yes, it was incredible, they both busied themselves for a couple of minutes, enjoying their meals in comfortable silence. But the silence didn't last long.

"So, Matt..." Alex said, startling him out of his thoughts, making him nervous about what she was about to follow it up with, "we've covered me and my life. What have you been up to these last couple of years i haven't been able to glean from your texts?"

He blinked, relieved to be asked something so innocent, when there were a whole host of awkward things that had transpired between the two of them today alone she could have decided to bring up in the silence. Not complaining in the slightest, he eagerly launched into filling her in on his life, just as she'd done her own for him earlier. He filled her in on his parents and Laura and her engagement and his granddad. He related a few anecdotes about Alex - his mate Alex, he was quick to point out, not her obviously, which was a clarification she only laughed at. He moved on to telling her about his upcoming filming projects, all of which she expressed genuine-sounding excitement and interest in, he was pleased to note.

The talk of future projects then somehow led to the more give-and-take topic of _Doctor Who_ and their time together on set. They exchanged laughs over long nights spent in pubs doing very drunken rounds of karaoke, over the time Arthur had been rejected after flirting with a guest star on set and then bought several rounds for them all at the pub that night to drown his embarrassment and sorrow in, over any number of the frankly hilarious pranks he and Arthur had played on poor Kazza. After reminiscing over a story where Matt had knocked on Karen's door late one night wearing a very realistic zombie mask, after which Alex had had to make her a cup of tea and comfort her for an hour before she'd agreed to go back to her own flat, they lapsed into a nice, nostalgic silence, each of them picking at the remains of the meals in their laps.

"Do you miss it?" she asked after a minute, her voice soft and sympathetic, obviously already knowing the answer.

"I mean, yeah, of course I miss it. I had to go eventually, and honestly, I was run so ragged by the end, I probably would have collapsed from exhaustion if I hadn't left... but part of me still wishes I'd stayed on another series," he answered truthfully. "I would have gotten to stay on with Jenna a bit longer. I felt bad, basically abandoning her so soon after she came on. And Steven definitely would have brought you back for a bunch of the episodes - that was one of the ways he tried to convince me to stay on actually, 'cuz he knew how much I loved doing episodes with you and River," he laughed, shaking his head at the thought.

Smiling softly, Alex said, "That would have been nice. We could have had the chance to end things between the characters a bit better, with more time before the end, more natural instead of so abrubt... And maybe our final scene together wouldn't have been so rushed. It would have helped a lot to have a couple more takes on that last episode, instead of zooming past it in just the one."

"Yeah," he agreed. "It would have been nice."

He found his eyes drawn to her, to the way she sat, posture absolutely perfect, in her double-zippered vest and billowy skirt hiding her legs completely from view, with her perfectly manicured toes peaking out from beneath. He only just noticed that she was barefoot, her sandals discarded next to the sofa almost as soon as she arrived, probably when he'd been placing the room service order. She sat there, beautifully, gorgeously, reminiscing with him over the final series they never got to do together, the days they never got, and he found himself picturing it. More weeks of drinking hot tea together on early morning shoots and huddling close to each other in the bitterly cold Cardiff climate. More onscreen banter and offscreen flirting. More late-night script reading and character discussions. More kissing. Onscreen, of course, he reminded himself. Though that made him think, especially after the signals he thought he'd been getting on and off throughout the day, that with another series under his belt, another year in which to prove his maturity and worth, maybe he would have plucked up his courage and there could have been some offscreen kissing as well.

It would have been nice. It would have been _amazing_ , all of it, really, not just the fantasy bits. He wanted that version of events. Instead, what he was stuck with was reality, which granted, the occasional lingering doubts about leaving the show beside, was amazing in all respects - except this _one_. Because not only had he not gotten more time on set with Alex, but he'd let her leave their final shoot together without insisting on keeping in touch, really in touch, not just the irregular text here and there that the last two and a half years had consisted of. He'd been convinced that insisting on seeing her going forward, without something to justify it, like this convention tour, would have been bothering her, projecting his own feelings onto a friendship that hadn't been as important to her as it had been to him. He'd shielded himself from the absolute rejection he was sure he'd get from her, and in return only lost out on time in which he could have had her by his side, in absolutely whatever capacity she'd have him.

His thoughts must have been playing on his face like a film, because Alex reached her foot out and prodded his leg with her toes. "What's wrong?'

"Nothing... I was just thinking," he said, putting his nearly empty plate down on the coffee table and leaning back against the sofa again. He turned in to face her, his arm resting over the back. "I miss the role and Karen and Arthur and... well... everything really, but I still do these conventions all the time and the Doctor is still a part of my life and I still see and talk to Kaz and Arthur all the time, Jenna too even, so the missing isn't so hard. But I haven't seen you since our last episode together and that was ages back. And we haven't been that great about keeping in touch, I don't really entirely know why. But I really think what I miss most about my time on the show is you."

Alex had already discarded her plate while he was talking. Now her eyes widened a fractioned more than normal. She mimicked his position, turning in to face him directly and shifting, one leg tucked underneath the other, still hidden by her skirt. "Really?"

Matt gave a wry smile. "Yeah, I mean, I always loved when you were on set the most. Ask Kazza, I'd be bouncing off the walls with excitement for days before you arrived and I'd be in an awful mood for days after you left again. And then we had our last episode and it was all so rushed. Before I knew it you were gone, and we've only really texted sporadically since then."

Alex's arm rose from beside her and slid up and along the back of the couch. "You could have called if you were missing me. We could have talked. Made plans to meet up when we were in the same timezone even. I would have liked that." Her fingers traced over the back of his hand gently, running soothing circles over his skin. It wasn't the first time they'd touched since their heat-filled photo session earlier in the day, but every movement of her fingers send a jolt of electricity up his arm.

His mind was buzzing, both from the touch of her skin on his and the words coming out of her mouth. Years worth of regret bubbled up in his stomach. She suggested it so easily, so casually, as it it would have been the simplest thing in the world to agree to, for them to have kept in close contact after _Who_. For them to have talked on the phone and met up and had dinners out and nights in, just enjoying each other's company, never having to deal with losing track of the other and only catching up years later, during a convention on the other side of the world. All he had to do was pick up the phone. "I should have. I really should have."

Alex's head tilted to the side, her face contemplative and even a little sad. Her fingers stopped their tracing and instead just rested over the back of his hand, her small palm not quite able to cover the back of his hand, but sending warmth throughout all of it. "Then why didn't you?" Her eyes shined and her voice was gentle, her question curious, but also betraying a level of insecurity, no matter how she tried to hide it. "I always wondered. Hoped, really. It would have been nice."

Matt's mouth instantly dried, his regret tripling as he imagined Alex waiting for him to reach out and show he still wanted her as a part of his life after they stopped working together. Being disappointed when they texted only a handful of times a year with no indication he had any serious desire to see her again, thinking he'd moved on from both the job and her, no longer needing his older costar to talk to or hang out with or flirt with. All the while, he'd been afraid of bothering her, interfering in her life that so seemingly obviously didn't have room for him, having delusions that they had anything but a professional, if flirtatious, working friendship witch needn't extend any further than when they were working on the same shoot.

He was suddenly overcome with the desire to show her how very wrong she was to think he'd not cared. He didn't have the courage to do what he really wanted to, which was lean in and kiss her, kiss the serene, regret-filled half-smile off her face, and so he settled instead for moving his hand, raising it up to intertwine his fingers between hers. Her hand was small and soft in his grasp and he gave it a reassuring squeeze. He shook his head slowly, trying to clear it of the stampede of thoughts running through it. He had to clear his throat, dislodging the lump that had formed there, in order to speak even just the simple sentence that followed. "I... didn't know you wanted me to."

Alex's forehead wrinkled in confusion as she stared back at him in disbelief. "Why on Earth wouldn't I want you to?" she asked, as if she couldn't even begin to contemplate his reasons for thinking she wouldn't want him chasing after her like a lost puppy. Her eyes were locked on him and she gave an almost imperceptible shake of her head. "It certainly would have made missing you easier."

Matt wanted to shake his head again, but he couldn't bring himself to break eye contact him her, entranced as he was by the draw of her gaze. "Jesus, Alex, I've missed you every damn day since I last saw you. If I'd known you _wanted_ me around, I swear I would have been by your side every bloody free moment I had... it's the only place I've ever really wanted to be," he finished quietly, internally cringing at his honestly, but figuring he owed her at least that much now.

There was silence as Alex continued to stare back at him, only now her head was straight, her pupils were dilated, and she had the inside of her bottom lip caught between her teeth. She seemed to be both thinking and staring at him in awe, as if he'd said something unbelievable. "Matt..."

He opened his mouth to respond, unsure what to say but needing to say _something_. But before he could, he was given the biggest shock of his life when Alex leaned forward and kissed him. Too caught up in the feel of her, the taste of her to _think_ , his body reacted instinctively and kissed her back. It was little more than simply their lips pressed together, but it was _glorious_. Her lips were soft and tender, timid as if she weren't sure he'd be receptive or not, but determined in how she'd just taken what she wanted.

And right now, apparently, what she wanted was _him_. His brain still hadn't quite processed that, but it didn't need to for him to appreciate this moment. It had been way too long since he'd gotten the chance to kiss her and this was infinitely better than any of the previous times. This wasn't acting, this was _them,_ and it was _wonderful._

The kiss lasted only a few short seconds. All too quickly, Alex broke away from him with a gasp, her hand flying up instinctively to touch her lips. Matt instantly feared the worst. "I'm sorry! I shouldn't have done that. I just lose my head around you, Matt, I'm sorry."

She lowered her hand and stared at him, her face flushed and eyes filled with fear and embarrassment. She only had a second longer to fret because instantly, Matt surged forward, claiming her lips with his own, both of his hands flying to either side of her face, cupping her cheeks and burying his fingertips in her hair. He'd gotten a taste of her, had gotten a glimpse inside of her he never expected to see, and he was entirely unable to let her _apologize_ for kissing him, when he'd wanted to do nothing less than the exact same all damn day. She gave a small, muffled squeak of surprise but then immediately melted beneath him. She threw both of her arms around his neck, pulling him down closer to her, and when he flitted his tongue across her lips, she wasted no time at all in allowing him access.

Where their first kiss had been slow and gentle, this one was frantic, insistent, desperate. There was no hesitancy, years of yearning and missed opportunity, seemingly on both of their parts, assured them of that. Matt's blood pumped fire through his veins, heating his skin and making his heart beat like a drum. Alex let out a small moan and Matt growled in response. He shifted his hands, one settling at the base of her head, keeping her in place against his lips, and the other attaching to her hip. He wanted to touch her everywhere, in all the places he'd only imagined before, but for now he'd settle for her hip, with the little slice of skin peeking through the gap between her skirt and her top. He clung to her like a drowning man clinging to a life preserver, fearing that if he let go of her, he'd slip to the bottom of the dark, merciless ocean, never to get a breath of air again.

But eventually, though the second kiss certainly lasted longer than the first, it too eventually came to an end. Only this time, it wasn't broken off with a sharp gasp, but two quiet ones, both of them pulling apart almost simultaneously to properly catch their breath, their foreheads leaning together. Gasping in small bursts of air, Matt grinned triumphantly. "I'm _not_ sorry for that."

Alex laughed, her breath escaping in a puff of air across his face. "God I hope not." She bit her lip for moment. "I'm really not either. I was just worried I'd... misread everything. You've had me on edge all day, darling."

Matt let out a burst of still breathless laughter. "I've had you on edge? Are you mad? I haven't been able to think straight all day! First it was your damn top driving me mad-"

"What's wrong with my top?" she cut him off, confusedly glancing down at herself.

"Absolutely nothing," he said firmly, quickly moving on. "And then you were wearing that bloody jacket, _my_ jacket, and that, I dunno, it awakened this primal instinct in me, and I was just just a goner by the time that photo op rolled around. I couldn't keep my hands off you. I thought you were upset at first. Then I wasn't sure if it was just a game or not."

"Upset? Matt, I was fit to bursting during that entire session." Her right hand slipped from around the back of his head to cradle his cheek. Her other hand stayed behind to scrape her nails gently down the nape of his neck and it was all he could do to repress a shudder. "Every time you touched me, my skin burned. But I didn't know if I was just imagining the heightened tension or not. Or like you said, if it was just a game, only our usual flirtatiousness, and I was just hyper sensitive to it since it's been so long."

"It's been _too_ long." Matt turned his head and kissed her palm, enjoying the pleased little giggle he received in response. "But my God, Alex, you're mad if you think our flirting doesn't always send me into a tailspin. I've been a little half in love with you from the day we met. You're perfect. You're the kindest person I've ever met, you're phenomenally talented, filthy-minded, fucking sexy as _hell_ , and just the thought of seeing you again has had me in a phenomenal mood for weeks now. And then we were here, and it's like no time has passed at all. You're just as kind and funny and stunning and amazing as ever, and Jesus, I sound like a broken record, but every time I looked at you or touched you while you were wearing that damn jacket, my blood boiled. I swear, a little while longer and I would have had to start hiding _behind_ the fans in those pictures," he finished, unable to keep the wide smile off his face.

Alex rolled her eyes and fisted one hand gently at the neck of his shirt. "Matt?"

"Yeah?"

"Just kiss me, darling."

Wondering how he could ever be expected to refuse a request like that, especially when she was already taking it upon herself to pull him down to meet her, Matt very happily did just what she commanded. His mind was scrambling, but his heart was sure, and without wasting another second, he dove into her.

 


	3. You're just too good to be true, can't take my eyes off of you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Their third kiss started, again, slower, gentler, but with an underlying level of heat and urgency and anticipation, as if they both knew this was the first step down a path they'd both been too afraid to start on. Their lips moved together with a quiet ferocity that sent his heart thrumming in his chest so hard he was absolutely positive she could feel it against her breasts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm REALLY the worst this time. I have no excuses other than writer's block and that fact that I took a break in the middle of this to write and another whole 18k fic and this itself is another 12k, and my brain cracked under the weight of all the words. So I'm sorry this took so long. But here's the end and I hope it's worth the wait!! I've been writing this fic for almost 4 months and thinking about it SINCE the Perth panel was happening, so it's a relief to finally have it finished and out of my head. And feedback is always appreciated!!

Their third kiss started, again, slower, gentler, but with an underlying level of heat and urgency and anticipation, as if they both knew this was the first step down a path they'd both been too afraid to start on. Their lips moved together with a quiet ferocity that sent his heart thrumming in his chest so hard he was absolutely positive she could feel it against her breasts.

Wanting her even closer, always, infinitely closer, unable to stand the little daylight between the rest of their bodies, Matt tugged on her hips, insistently pulling her onto him and turning his own body to lean against the back of the sofa. Alex followed all too willingly, a soft whimper escaping the back of her throat as she allowed herself to be pulled into his lap, her knees eagerly straddling his waist, adjusting her skirt so that it billowed out around them as she settled into place. With the flowing green skirt safely out of the way, Matt was almost instantly aware of the fact that the only thing separating them right now were her knickers and his own clothes. Heat radiated from her core where she was settled over him, and he was fairly certain all the blood in his body had rushed instantly down to his cock. Which she could obviously feel, given her position right on top of his erection and the moan she slipped into his mouth.

Matt groaned, unable to keep the sound stifled. He liked to think Alex actually quite enjoyed that, judging from the way her hips instantly jerked down over him at the sound, but to be fair, he'd also chosen that very moment to grab hold of her arse with both hands, under the folds of her skirt, squeezing the mounds of satiny-covered flesh between his fingers. At that first thrust of her hips, however, he knew it wasn't enough and used his grip on her backside to pull her insistently down over himself again. With every stroke of her tongue, with every breathless moan coming from the back of her throat, with every scrape of her nails through his short, prickly hair, or clench of her fingers in the shoulder of his shirt, Alex only built him up higher, hotter, and more desperate to have her _right now_.

He broke away from her lips, taking only a fraction of a second to catch his breath before he attached his mouth to the side of her neck, kissing and licking on the skin there. He delighted in the breathless gasps she made above him, and he could feel her head moving aside to give him more room to work with.

He continued to kiss his way up her neck and behind her ear. He scraped his teeth gently along her earlobe and then moved down to nibble on the skin just beneath. He could smell her perfume strongly just there, powerful and fresh and his fervor only increased when he thought she must have dabbed it on just before coming to his room, hoping, preparing for exactly this. He gave up on the little nips and kisses and sunk his teeth into the juncture of her neck, sucking her skin into his mouth.

Alex threw her head back, obviously enjoying the attention, and took the moment to start moving astride his lap again. Her slow, slinky movement alongside his erection brought on a strangled moan from Matt and he bucked up into her again, still working his teeth across her neck. She'd have marks in the morning, that was for sure. And that probably wasn't the best idea considering they still had two more days of panels left, but they had the following two days off at least and Alex hopefully would have something to wear to cover up, because her neck was simply divine and he couldn't bear the thought of not ravishing it.

Alex didn't seem to mind that, or perhaps hadn't even considered it, because all she did was encourage him. Her one hand climbed out of his shirt, where her fingers had snuck to scrape along his neck and back, to press against his head, keeping him in place as she continued to moan and pant and slide against him, her hips now moving relentlessly against him, building the tension up for the both of them.

"Matt, yes!" she panted breathlessly. "God, I've wanted this all bloody day. All I could imagine was getting you alone tonight."

He didn't know if she was referring to the attention he was giving to her neck or the frankly delicious way their hips were rocking together, but at her last sentence, he didn't care. He pictured Alex going through the motions of her day, interacting with fans, signing autographs, taking pictures, their little game of cat-and-mouse during the photo ops, maybe even still sitting on stage during their panel, all the while wanting this. Wanting him. Imagining and craving exactly what they were doing right now and more. He was very glad he hadn't been aware of that earlier or he would have made a scandalous spectacle of himself and acted out in a way that definitely would have been noticed by their many onlookers.

"Fuck, Alex," he groaned out, detaching himself from her neck to mouth instead at the cleavage popping out of her vest, mumbling against the swell of her breasts, "All you had to do was say the world and I'd have been all over you. All bloody day I thought of you. All week, even."

He continued pressing kisses to her chest, edging closer and closer to the edge of her vest, towards the damned bloody zipper that had taken up permanent residence in his brain, intending to take it between his teeth and slowly unwrap the bounty behind it like he'd been simply _aching_ to do since he had first seen it earlier in the week. His movement was hampered, however, by Alex tugging on his ears and pulling him into a desperate, sloppy kiss with a moan that sent shivers through his whole body.

After a few seconds of exploring each other's mouths and nipping at the others' lips, Alex trailed her mouth down the side of his face. She stopped to press tiny kisses along the edge of his jaw and chin, then further down his neck, kissing and licking and sucking and biting, ensuring he would be just as marked up as she was come the morning. All the while, she trailed her nails maddeningly slowly across his shoulders and down his chest and all Matt could do was gasp and pant into her hair, his hips still pistoning _up up up_ against her center, searching for relief from the unendurable need coursing through his veins.

His breath caught in his chest when, with a fierce look of determination, Alex's fingers finally crawled their way down to the hem of his t-shirt and down past the waist of his jeans to cup the impressive bulge she found there. She latched her mouth onto his neck again and allowed her fingers to stroke him through the rough, tight denim of his trousers. There was no teasing in her ministrations, each stroke deliberate and firm, each making Matt feel closer and closer to a very enjoyable death.

He wanted to slip his fingers into the front of her knickers and slide them through her wet heat, but the angle of their bodies wasn't very conducive for that, not if he wanted to keep her touching him like she was, so he settled instead for fitting his palms snugly beneath the back of her knickers, allowing himself to palm the skin of her arse and run his fingers teasingly between her cheeks. He was just trying to wiggle his middle finger far enough down over the curve of her arse and under her to press against her slick opening, when Alex's mouth left his neck and her hand strayed from his erection, fisting instead around the hem of his shirt. She started to tug it furiously up his chest, necessitating his pulling his hands reluctantly from her arse to help her pull the shirt all the way off so she could chuck the offending article over her shoulder.

Instantly, she was all over him, scooting further down his lap to get at his chest. Her mouth descended, licking and nipping at his skin and twirling her tongue around his nipples, forcing a deep moan from his mouth. As her lower body moved further out of reach, Matt raised his hands up her torso, finally moving them over her breasts, each palm running over one and kneading it, her hard nipples scraping against his palms. Alex's nails followed her mouth, trailing languorously through his light spattering of chest hair and over his now wet and cold nipples. She didn't stop there, however. Her mouth and nails continued their paths further down, marking up the rest of his chest, his sternum, his lower stomach.

Before he could process anything else, Alex slid completely from his lap and onto the plush carpet at his feet. He was only able to sit there, dumbly, as he let her shift his hips further towards the edge of the couch, a wicked, gleeful look in her eyes as she stared back at his slack-jawed expression. Deftly, she undid the button on his jeans, opened his zipper, and reached into his pants, her tiny hand finally, blissfully, taking hold of his twitching cock.

Matt screwed his eyes shut tight against the wave of sensation hitting him at the feel of her skin actually touching him. Alex made short work of giving his cock several sinful pumps before drawing him out of his pants. Matt didn't know if he was more relieved to be free of the confines of his tight trousers or to finally be in Alex's hands, with her mouth so very, very close. Either way, this arrangement was much nicer than even just a few moments ago.

"Just as majestic as I'd imagined," Alex said, managing to sound both incredibly sexy and amused at the same time, the flirtatious smile on her face evident even without his eyes open. She obviously took great pleasure in throwing that particular, long-ago comment back at him.

He managed to crack one eye open, only to be met with the tantalizing sight of Alex on her knees in front of him, her hand wrapped around his length, still stroking and pumping him, and her mouth so very close to where he wanted, needed it to be. Her eyes raised immediately to meet his gaze and her smile widened. It was easily the sexiest, most beautiful sight he'd ever seen in his life. And she was still fully clothed, something he vowed to fix very soon.

Overcome again by her continued ministrations, Matt dropped his head back against the sofa, reluctantly breaking eye contact with her but managing to let out a small, pleased chuff of laughter. "You've imagined it then?"

She gave possibly the naughtiest laugh he could imagine coming from her mouth - and considering this was _Alex_ , that was really saying something. "Oh, darling, more times than you would believe."

His cock twitched when he felt her place a small kiss to his length, nearly at the head, and a giant shudder of pleasure ran through his body at the contact. Good Lord, if he was this out of control now, he didn't know how he'd react when she actually took him inside her mouth. Or when he got inside her properly. His hips spasmed at the mere thought.

Alex _tsk_ 'ed reproachfully. "Now none of that. Behave!" she chided him, giving his still-clothed thigh a slap, warning him to keep his hips still. The slap was painless, but it sent an odd shiver of anticipation and delight straight to his cock. She seamed to notice his reaction because her eyes glinted mischievously. "And if you're a _very_ good boy, there may be more where _that_ came from."

He barely had time to contemplate what she'd suggested, because next he knew, the first stroke of her tongue came, sending his brain into a spiral of dizzy pleasure. He groaned and clenched his fists along the length of his thighs. Alex's unused hand, previously resting on his knee, come up to cover his hand, stroking the back of it soothingly as her tongue stroked at his cock. She went from base to tip, moving over a little more with each lick so as to cover as much of him as possible in long, firm strokes and then followed that up with twirling her tongue around his head, collecting the clear drops of pre-cum already starting to seep out of him.

When her mouth finally enveloped the head of his cock, Matt gasped, his fists clenching tighter, his left thumb clamping down on her pinky finger danging over the side of his hand. Then her lips closed around him tighter as she applied pressure and starting sucking at his head, circling his slit with her tongue. Agonizingly slowly, her head descended, taking more of him into her mouth, inch by inch. Her pace was maddening. With each new sliver of flesh sucked into her mouth, more stars burst behind his eyes. He wanted nothing more than to fist his hands in her curls and tug her further and further down along his length, burying every last inch of himself inside her gorgeous, glorious mouth. Instead he settled for throwing his head back against the sofa, screwing his eyes shut, and letting his gasps and moans fill the air.

Eventually, Alex did reach her limit on what she could take in her mouth. The head of his cock was brushed up near but not quite touching the back of her throat, and though she hadn't been able to take quite all of him inside, she'd come damn close enough. She gave a pleased hum and the vibrations from the back of her throat sent nearly paralyzing waves of pleasure through his cock and straight up his spine. Her left hand squeezed his white-knuckled fist tighter and her right clenched his thigh, digging her nails into his skin through the denim. It had barely crossed his mind that he was still clothed from his hips down, the waistband of his jeans and pants pulled down only far enough for her to have pulled his cock free, but at the moment, Matt couldn't bring himself to care even the tiniest bit.

When she took her right hand away from his thigh, wrapped two fingers around the base of his length, and started bobbing her head, sliding her hot, wet mouth up and down his length, leaving trails of cold saliva on his skin and making him shiver when it met the air, Matt broke. His hands flew out to grasp desperately at her hair, tangling in her curls as he gasped desperately above her. He managed to keep his hips still, wanting anything but to choke her and send her into a gagging fit, but he did allow himself to start guiding her head along his length.

He quickly caught Alex's eye, ensuring she was all right with his daring move, and he heaved a sigh of relief when she paused and gave a decidedly purposeful and assenting stroke of her tongue around his cock still inside her mouth. She then surprised him by bringing both of her hands up to the back of her head, twining her fingers around his where they were tangled in her hair, as if she couldn't stop touching him. Never mind that most of his cock was buried in her mouth, she still wanted and got pleasure in just holding his hand, even in this already heightened and intimate moment between them. If anything, that only made Matt grow hotter and more impatient, even more in love with her than he had already been. There wasn't much room between his knuckles, but he spread them and then clamped them possessively around her fingers, relishing in the contact with her skin, all the while continuing to guide her lips up and down his length.

After a few minutes, and honestly, Matt was shocked he'd managed to last that long with Alex's mouth wrapped around him, sucking and licking in all the right places and at all the right moments, Matt started to feel the pleasurable tingling sensation that indicated his building orgasm shoot from his cock to his spine, not quite there yet, but building faster and faster with every passing second, every passing moan and hum Alex made around him, every passing stroke of her lips over his crown.

"Jesus _fuck_ , Alex... you're mouth is like _sin._ " The words tumbled out of his mouth, spoken around a broken moan. His fingers squeezed hers tighter and his fists pulled her along his length faster, building closer and closer to the end and wanting nothing more in this precise moment than to just _come_ , to flood her mouth with his release, pull her back up into his lap, and kiss the last traces of himself from her lips. He was so close to finishing, he started thrusting his hips into her waiting mouth. He was careful, even in his state of near delirium, to only thrust on her upwards motions, but just the act of _moving_ was a relief.

Sensing how close he was, Alex pulled one of her hands free and lowered it back down to his base, then continued even lower. His hips gave a particularly powerful thrust when she brushed her fingers over one of his testicles, first one, then the other. She spent a few precious seconds fondling him and then, simultaneously hollowed her cheeks on her next downward motion and grazed her nails ever-so-lightly over one testicle.

Matt's hand reacted on instinct, darting up to pull her hand away from his balls and clutch her fingers tightly between his own. He was desperate to keep hold of her, to touch her, to feel her soft, golden skin pressed as closely together with his as possible, even if it was just their hands. Desperately clutching at her with both hands, one in her hand and the other still in her hair, his hips stuttered and he came with a grunt, releasing himself into her mouth, which she eagerly accepted and swallowed down with a pleased and delighted moan. He gave a strangled cry of her name and threw his head back in ecstasy.

When he came back to his senses a few seconds later, he noticed that not only was he still holding onto her in twin vice-like grips, but her mouth was still seeing to his now shrinking cock, softly licking the remains of his release from the tip. When she finished, she placed a gentle kiss to his head and looked up to meet his disoriented gaze.

"You are fucking wonderful," he told her dazedly, loosening his holds on her, only to get a better grip of both of her hands and squeeze them tightly, leaning forward and bringing them together to his lips to place a kiss against her knuckles. "Anyone ever tell you that?"

"Not recently. Though I have to admit, I think I gave you more reason to think so than anyone else has had in a while," Alex said with a laugh and a delighted little shake of her head.

With a growl and a surging spike of energy, he shifted his grip to her elbows and hauled her up off the floor and back into his lap, where she landed with a surprised giggle. He leaned his head in and captured her lips with his own. She immediately opened her mouth to his questing tongue and he fulfilled his earlier desire to taste himself in her mouth, the taste of them together momentarily stunning his senses. When he broke apart from her lips, he leaned his forehead against hers, gasping a little for breath, and brought his hands up to cradle her face. "Not just for _that_... though, yes, I think it goes without saying that that was bloody fucking spectacular. But I meant all of you. You're fucking perfect, Alex."

She brought one hand up to cover his hands over her face and stroked her fingers over his skin idly. She was breathing happily and seemed pleased, but her voice betrayed a sense of vulnerability. "I'm really not, you know. No one is, myself especially."

"Ok, yeah, true," he conceded, not wanting her to think he was putting her up on some infallible pedestal in his mind. "But any flaws of yours, real or imagined, just serve to make you all the more perfect to _me_. In all the years I've known you, you have never done anything that didn't make me fall a little more in love with you by the day."

Alex's eyes shone with a magical light that beamed straight from her face to his heart, sending it soaring. She gently shook her head, slightly awestruck, as if she couldn't quite believe what she was hearing or experiencing, while simultaneously being thrilled that it was. Matt knew exactly how she felt. He marveled at the woman in his arms, continuing to reverently stroke her cheeks. In a million years, he never would have believed it if someone had told him just this morning that this is where he'd be tonight, that Alex would ever even give him so much as a passing glance that wasn't entirely for show.

"You know, just so you're not left wondering later," Alex said happily, stirring him from his thoughts, "I'm a little half in love with you too, darling. And at the risk of getting ahead of ourselves a bit here, I'd go so far as to say a little more than half, even."

"Yeah? You mean that?" he asked, doing his best to inject just a touch of smugness into his words, grinning from ear to ear.

Alex gave no verbal response, but the curve of her lips against his mouth when she leaned in and kissed him was all the answer he needed.

The buildup of this kiss was wonderful. She kissed him slowly, but with determination, eagerness and longing. Her mouth instantly opened to him and once again he could taste the now faint traces of his essence on her tongue. Groaning, Matt's hands started to snake down the length of her body, down her neck and arms, grazing the sides of her breasts, the curve of her waist, and then finally her hips, where that little sliver of skin he'd admired earlier between her top and her skirt had now been widened in all the excitement.

His palms burned where he gripped her bare skin. As they continued to kiss, he reveled in the delicate way his head swam and his fingers traced the edge of her vest, finding their way beneath it. He flattened his palms against the plane of her hidden skin, sliding them slowly across her ribs, up her stomach, and finally reaching her breasts. His hands flitted across the cups of her bra to skirt across the edge, where it met the skin of her cleavage. He palmed her breasts, squeezing them roughly, causing Alex to moan deliciously into him mouth.

He broke their kiss and bent his head down to nip at her cleavage popping out of the top of the vest. He was just about to bury his face in the valley between her breast and work his way down to the zippers that had burrowed their way into his subconscious days ago, when Alex pushed him up and away from her chest and kissed him sloppily. Breaking away and gasping for air, she reached down and grasped the edge of the vest and moved as if she were simply going to pull it over her head and toss it away. Matt's stomach jolted and his hands flew out to still hers.

"What are you _doing_?" he gasped in horror.

"Taking my top off," she said slowly, her voice dripping with confusion. She was staring at him as if he'd asked her why she needed to breathe air into her lungs.

Matt couldn't even form together the right words to explain his dismay. "But _why_?" he blurted out unthinkingly. Seeing the look of hurt surprise on Alex face at his question, he sped ahead, cutting her off before she could form a response. "I don't mean why are you taking it off! I mean why are you doing it like _that_?" he asked insistently, gesturing, with his hands still wrapped around her wrists between them, down to the hem of her vest.

Alex blinked at him, and looked down at herself, still not comprehending. "Like what?"

"Like - like that! Just pulling it off like that!"

"Because that's generally how one takes a shirt off, by pulling if off over your head. Remember, that's how we got yours off just a few minutes ago." She was still looking at him strangely and pulled her hands free from his grasp. One rested on his shoulder and the other one instantly went to feel his head and face, evidently checking for signs of a temperature. "Matt, are you feeling all right, darling? I thought you were running a bit hot because you were caught up in the moment, but if you're not feeling well-"

She thought he was sick. That he was experiencing some sort of fever-induced mania. If he weren't still so upset at the prospect of the vest being pulled over her head and tossed aside before he got the chance to indulge his fantasy of getting her out of it the _proper_ way, he'd have laughed. "I'm not _sick_ , Alex! But I just - I just - it _zips_! Hell, it's got _two_! Why in the bloody hell-"

"All this over a bloody zipper? Really? What on Earth does it matter how it comes off?"

He paused and looked at her helplessly. He took in her still confused and flustered eyes, and shook his head frantically, steeling himself. "No. You know what? No. No, no, _no_!" he said emphatically. He wrapped his arms firmly around her waist, shuffled them both forward a bit, and with a great deal of effort, hauled both himself up and Alex up off the sofa. Alex shrieked in surprise and threw her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, clutching on to him for dear life.

" _What the hell are you doing_?" she shrieked, clearly torn between outrage and amusement.

Matt wobbled on his feet for a moment, making sure he was in no danger of dropping her, then took the handful of steps necessary to reach the bed in the center of the room. Without warning, he dislodged Alex 's arms from his neck and unceremoniously dropped her on to the mattress.

She shrieked again, this time definitely more with amusement than anything else, chuckling laughs escaping her as she scrambled towards the middle of the bed near the pillows and leaned up on her elbows, watching him stand at the side of the bed, staring right back at her with a hungry glint in his eyes.

"Feeling so eager already?" she asked, grinning, as she pushed stray curls from her flushed face. He saw her gaze roam down the length of his body appreciatively. "This is a perk of sleeping with a younger man that I'm going to enjoy very much, I think."

He glanced down and realized for the first time that although he was still wearing both his pants and his trousers, his cock still was hanging out over them, already half-hard again and jutting out in front of him. Feeling a touch ridiculous in his ravaged and rumbled state, he tucked himself delicately back into his pants but shoved his jeans down his legs, kicking them off along with his boots and socks. His pants would stay for now. Alex was still fully dressed, after all. It wouldn't do for him to be completely bare before he took a stitch of clothing off her - even if he did plan to start in the next ten seconds.

He placed one knee up on the bed, leaned down and started the slow the crawl over to her. When he reached her, he straddled his knees on either side of her legs and leaned his body over her. He possessively grabbed each of her wrists and pinned them to the bed on either side of her head and lowered his face so that he was mere inches away from her, his breath ghosting over her grinning, eager face. When he spoke, his eyes were trained resolutely on her and his voice came out in a low, promising growl. "By the end of the night, I'll have you wishing you'd started sleeping with a younger man years ago."

Alex's pupils instantly dilated at his words, her desire clearly written on her face. Matt wasn't surprised by that. It had been what he was going for, after all. No, what surprised him was the way she stopped playfully squirming beneath him, the way her face simultaneously softened, her joyous, frisky expression falling away to one of sober thoughtfulness. "I already do, darling." Her eyes glistened slightly and she stared up at him, still smiling, still happy, but also tinged with a hint of regret; regret that they'd both been so stupid, so careless to have wasted all these years without the other.

Matt's breath caught in his chest, overcome with emotion at her very sincere admission to his playful remark. He could only stare down at her, eyes burning into her fiercely, fists still tightened over her wrists, and he was suddenly overcome, even more so than before, with desire for her. He felt the temperature of his blood begin to boil, every nerve ending in his body pulling him towards her.

Beneath him, Alex blinked and somehow that spurred him into action. Furiously, he bent his head and claimed her lips with a growl in the back of his throat. This kiss was all passion and teeth and tongues and greedy, desperate _need_. He _needed_ to kiss her. He _needed_ to wrap his tongue around hers and explore the caverns of her mouth. He _needed_ to press her wrists into the mattress, his grip almost bruising, holding her perfectly in place beneath him. A quick, fleeting thought in the back of his mind warned him that this might be too much, to ease off, but Alex was moaning into his mouth, her hands were clenched into fists of her own, her nails digging into her palms, and her teeth were biting at his lips. They were all fire and frenzy, their movements hot and desperate, but that all covered the layer of emotion driving them.

Eventually, Matt broke the kiss, ducking his head to kiss and bite at her neck. Her gasps for breath echoing in his ears, and his own haphazard breathing forcing him to focus, he started to move his mouth over the swell of her breasts, so very near the zippered gap at the top of her vest. He kissed and licked and nipped at every ounce of her flesh already bared to him, little sounds of appreciation slipping all the while from the back of his throat.

Finally having enough, he eyed the little zipper, so perfectly within reach of his mouth. He took the little piece of metal between his teeth, relishing in the slightly metallic taste on his tongue and the tingling feeling running down his spine from the metal-on-teeth feeling he would have hated under other circumstances, but which felt so wonderfully right just here. He mouthed at the tiny piece for a moment, the feel of Alex's heavy breathing right under his head.

"I've been wanting to unwrap you with my teeth all fucking day, Alex, you have _no_ idea," he moaned into the skin of her chest, ghosting his lips over her feverishly.

Alex laughed breathlessly. "It's just a bloody zipper, Matt, but by all means, if this is some secret kink of yours, go right ahead. Just hurry up!" She finished with a teasing and pointed shimmy of her chest, thrusting it up closer to his face in encouragement.

"It's a new one, but I'm pretty sure it's a Kingston-specific kink," he chucked out.

Getting himself back on track, he took the zipper back into his mouth and used his teeth to drag it down slowly, only a couple of inches lower than it had already been. Which, frankly, was already quite low. She'd left a delectable amount of cleavage on display all day for him to admire. Now he got to put more and more of it on display a little at a time, and take his time worshipping each new inch of skin bared to him. Slowly, after running his lips and tongue over every bit of revealed skin, he lowered the zip gradually lower, exposing more and more of her breasts to his gaze.

When he'd finally gotten it far enough down, he used his mouth to pull the cloth of the vest aside, completely baring her bra-clad breasts to him. The rest of the vest was left zipped, right up until where it was tucked beneath her chest. He let one of Alex's wrists loose and a particularly strong jolt of burning heat shot through him when she kept her wrist exactly where he'd left it, obeying his unspoken command to stay exactly as he had her. Her eyes were aflame and burning as she stared down at him, determination and power - despite the fact that she was the one currently being ravished - and greedy desire radiating off of her in waves.

With the help of his teeth on the edge of her bra cups, Matt used his free hand to pull her breasts from their satin confinement. Her smooth, perfect skin felt like bliss under his hand and he took great pleasure in stroking reverently over one, but he wasted no time at all in dropping his head to take one hardened nipple into his mouth. At the same time, both he and Alex let out nearly twin moans of pleasure. Hers was wanton and gratified, slipped freely from behind bitten and puffy lips from the moments of anticipation. His were more akin to the overjoyed cry of relief given by a man left to wander the desert taking his first sip of water, appreciative and comforted and delighted, but at the same time, impatient and greedy for more.

His tongue circled her nipple while his fingers made short work of the other, all the while Alex's breathing came faster with each passing stroke. He couldn't tell from his current position, but he imagined her one freed hand clenching into a fist or maybe grabbing hold of the sheet beneath her. He imagined her twitching, desperate to bring it down to clutch his head to her chest more insistently. The muscles and tendons in the wrist he still held onto tightly were flexing beneath his palm and he hoped that meant he was right, that already she was having trouble remaining still. With that thought floating in his head, he allowed his teeth to scrape over her, ever-so-gently, and groaned again, her nipple still clenched between his teeth.

"Oh yes, Matt, God yes," she cried out helplessly. She still held her hand in place, determined to stay exactly as he wold have kept her if he possessed a third hand, but he felt her leg trailing up his leg and over his thigh to his arse. She was happy to keep her hand still, but wasn't above using her other limbs to encourage him. Her insistent foot pressing into his arse could do little to encourage his mouth on her breast - though the way she arched her back certainly did - but it did have the added benefit of pushing his hips more directly against hers, which spurred him on. He switched sides, letting go of the first nipple and trading it in for the other.

In the process he also switched which hand of hers he held in place - she still kept the free one determinedly in place, though she did thrust her hips a tad bit impatiently during the transition - and brought his other hand down to flick and stroke at her now abandoned breast. The combined feeling of his fingers and the cold air around her wet nipple and his hot, firm tongue around the other increased the intensity of her pleasured keening. He pulled his head back just a few inches and blew over her gently, his cool breath rippling across her skin and sending a visible shudder through Alex and wrenching a very audible moan from her mouth.

Tempted though he was to spend the rest of the evening lavishing attention on her perfect breasts, Matt figured it was time to move on and explore other, even more perfect parts of her body. He had a feeling Alex's patience was wearing thin anyway, judging by the wiggling of her hips beneath him and her ragged breath. With one last gentle kiss to the rosy bud he'd just had in his mouth, Matt started his descent south. In order to do so, he had to release Alex's second wrist, thereby freeing her from her restraints, both real and imagined.

He expected her to bring her hand down to card through the little hair on his head or somehow direct his next move, but instead, he was treated to the incredibly sexy sight of her taking over where he left off. Her hand curled around her own breasts, fingers going to work grabbing and stroking them and circling the nipples he'd had in his mouth only moments before. She must have noticed his staring up at her with his hungry eyes and gaping mouth, because she paused, staring back at him.

"Enjoying the view, darling?" she asked, a hint of amusement in her voice. Her fingers went back to stroking her own skin tantalizingly. He didn't want to ever take his eyes off her and she damn well knew it.

A low growl crawled its way up his throat. "More than you could ever know."

She chuckled breathlessly, her hands on her breasts keeping her breathing elevated. "Well your mouth was just so wonderful and now you've left me with nothing. What else was I supposed to do?" Her voice was teasing, taunting even, daring him with her words and the renewed wiggling of her hips, to continue his trek down her body. He was more than happy to oblige.

"You keep playing with your breasts all you like, God knows I could certainly watch you all night, but rest assured, I have no intentions on leaving you unsatisfied," he told her, flashing her a cheeky wink. His hands slipped beneath the bottom of her vest, fingers tickling teasingly at the skin on her stomach. Alex twitched and jolted, writhing around for the brief moments he tortured her. She did her best to bite back a surprised shout of laughter, but failed miserably.

" _No_ tickling!" She said scoldingly, still breathless, once he'd relented. She glared down at him, obviously trying to impress her unhappiness on him, but her twinkling eyes did little to convince him that she was angry.

"But you writhed and wiggled so perfectly - and from just a few strokes! How am I supposed to resist the temptation now that I know it's that easy to get you going?" he laughed, fingers stroking gently now across her skin.

The laughter-induced flush started to recede from her face and it was replaced with a naughty little smirk that made Matt's insides squirm deliciously. "I can think of a few other ways to get me to writhe around like that and they'd probably just take a few strokes to get me going too."

"Well, with an opening like that, how am I supposed to resist?" He used his hands to lower the bottom zip of the vest, leaving the whole lower portion of it closed, where previously there's been a delectable little gap. He then lowered his head, once more taking the top zipper resting under her breasts into his mouth and pulled it slowly down her torso, baring the perfect golden skin of her abdomen to his eyes. He raised himself back up and traced a line from her sternum down her body with his tongue, ending with a little dip into her navel, enjoying the way she squirmed pleasantly beneath him again. Obviously anticipating his next movements, she let his small infraction against the "no tickling" rule go unnoted.

Having reached her skirt, he reached down and pulled it up, rucking it up around her hips. The first thing he noticed was that her knickers matched her now-disheveled bra. Both were a luscious shade of purple that suit her perfectly and were made of the same satin-black lace combo. The bra he hadn't paid any attention to, way too preoccupied to take notice, but these knickers - _matching_ knickers at that - had to be a sign. There was no way she'd been wearing something so nice and sexy and coordinated all day, just for a convention appearance. It had to be for him, didn't it? Unless she just wore things like this all the time, and every time he'd seen her off-camera she'd been wearing something similar, unbeknownst to him. He didn't know which option turned him on more, honestly.

He reached out and stroked her center, right over the terribly damp knickers, feeling the shudder of pleasure roll through her frame. His fingers were light, careful not to use to much pressure, not giving her too much of what she wanted just yet.

"Matching knickers, Alex? And such a pretty set?" he whispered, lowering his body to the mattress and resting his chin on her lower stomach, watching her intently as he continued to idly stroke her. "They're very hot, _very_ sexy. Just like the woman in them. Makes me wonder though, did you wear them special? Did you wear them for me? Did you go back to your room before coming over and change into them, hoping that exactly this would happen? Did you only bring them with you on this trip because you were hoping I'd get to see them? Or do you always wear sexy underwear like this? Do you get a kick out of wearing them even when no one's going to see them? I think both options are _incredibly_ sexy, but tell me, Alex, which is it? Are you always wearing things like this beneath your clothes, or are these just for me?"

He gazed up at her, watching her face run the gamut of emotions: pleasure, embarrassment, lust, and finally, sinful brazenness. "Well, wouldn't you like to know?" she said lightly, still breathless but with an edge of playful confidence aimed down at him.

He growled lowly in the back of this throat, fingers stroking her ever-more teasingly, which only emboldened her more.

"Wouldn't you like to know which of those it was?" she asked boldly, words coming between gasps and moans, hips undulating ever so slightly up to meet his fingers better. "Which would you prefer? That I get off on wearing sexy underwear every day, because it makes me feel attractive and powerful, like I could seduce any man I want and that that feeling keeps me wet and aching all day, no matter where I've been or who I've been around? That I like to keep ready, never quite sure when I might meet someone I'd simply have to have right there, who'd appreciate the fact that I was already prepared?"

Matt thought he could come right there, the second time of the night and this time with no direct stimulation, his cock hard and throbbing and pressed into the mattress, just from the picture she painted. He listened eagerly, continue to stroke her steadily, as she carried on. Her words were coming faster and her breathing increased.

"Or is it better if I stood over my suitcase for a half hour while packing for this trip, debating whether to pack something so ridiculous as sexy underwear on the off-chance that they'd come in useful? On the off-chance that somehow, after all the time and all the distance, I might have the opportunity to wear them and have you be the one to take them off? That I waited for my daughter and Freema to leave tonight and changed into them, hoping that I wasn't imagining things and that you were coming on to me all day? That I'd come to this room tonight and you'd make me _ruin_ them?"

It was almost too much. She was driving him mad, building him up higher and higher, her words crafting two different scenarios, each more maddeningly sexier that the other. But while both were too much for his brain to wrap around, he hoped, from the same place deep within himself where he nursed his ego, that it was the second option. Impatient and needing to know the truth, he sharply twisted his head and bit down on her hip forcefully. Not hard enough to cause any lasting damage, but enough to elicit a sharp gasp from Alex as she threw her head back against the pillows.

"Which is it?" he grumbled into her skin.

Overcome with sensation and obviously done teasing him, Alex gasped out the answer he so desperately needed. "You, darling. It's all for you." Her hands left her breasts and traveled down to his head, still resting on her abdomen. One carded through his bristly hair and that other lay atop his scalp while her thumb brushed gently over his forehead. "I felt so ridiculous, but God, I hoped we'd end up here."

With an appreciative groan, Matt slipped his hand down the front of her knickers and quickly sunk two fingers inside her. The soft hold she had on his head turned bruising and her nails scraped painfully against his scalp as she cried out sharply. Her hot, wet walls clenched immediately around his fingers, clamping down on them with every thrust.

"I've wanted this for so long, Alex, so bloody long," he whispered over her stomach, breath ghosting over her belly button and increasing her shudders. He pressed a spattering of kisses across her pelvis. "But I never thought it'd actually happen. I only ever contemplated it in my filthiest fantasies." He pulled his fingers out, ignoring her frustrated cry at the feeling of sudden emptiness, and dragged her knickers down her hips and then each leg. He tossed them thoughtlessly behind himself and sunk his fingers back into her wetness, this time adding a third, wringing a loud moan from Alex's throat. Her knees twitched and clenched together desperately on either side of him. He shifted and dropped his kisses lower across the tops of her thighs, his fingers still plunging within her effortlessly. Scattered kisses on the inside of her thighs. Then a possessive bite, which elicited a sharp cry from her lips. "And now, you're all mine," he exhaled quietly, breath hot over her dripping sex.

He pulled his fingers from her quickly and ran his tongue up the length of her slit. She was dripping and writhing and moaning, and all Matt could think was that he couldn't get enough of the taste of her. In all his fantasies and wank sessions, nothing had compared to the reality of his face between Alex Kingston's legs. She scratched desperately at his head, obviously in search of something to hold onto, with most of his hair gone, and had to settle for just clutching the back of his head to the juncture between her legs all the more fiercely.

Emboldened by her reaction and his all-encompassing thirst for more, he continued eagerly. His tongue delicately traced over her lips before plunging within her and exploring the caverns of her body. Alex's hips thrust beneath him, her moans were getting filthier by the second, and her cunt throbbed around his tongue the moment he'd entered her, wetness seeping from within her, only to be met by his enthusiastic tongue. With all the buildup, he knew she had to be close and he almost regretted that he'd brought her so close to orgasm as quickly as he had, eager as he was to stay right where he was for as long as he could. But he also couldn't bear to deny her anything, not least the release she so rightly deserved.

He withdrew his tongue and swept it over her clit. His fingers resumed their former place between her legs and his lips wrapped around the throbbing nub, sucking it into his mouth. A few more strokes of both his tongue and his fingers and her nails were digging into his scalp, her hips were flying off the bed, and her voice was shattering with the rippled echoes of his name.

His tongue continued to lap at her, waiting with baited breath and the smallest hint of a prideful grin on his lips, gently lapping up every drop of her essence he could as she took shuddering breaths and came down from her high. Alex's hips were still circling and rolling from his enduring attention, but eventually they slowed and coasted to a stop. With only a small twinge of regret, Matt placed one fleeting kiss to her clit right as she took her last shaky breath.

He raised his head just enough to catch a glimpse of her, chest still heaving, cheeks flushed, sweat already glistening on her forehead, and he'd almost forgotten, still mostly clothed. Her knickers were the only piece of clothing he'd fully removed from her body. Her skirt was rucked up around her hips, the vest was unzipped but still in place around her shoulders, and her bra pushed down beneath her breasts. She looked properly ravished. Matt didn't think a sexier, more arousing, more provocative sight existed in the universe.

Before he could contemplate his next move, she was hauling him up her body by his ears, dragging him towards her face where she met his lips in a searing kiss. She licked greedily at his mouth, desperate to taste herself on his tongue and he was only too happy to oblige her. The way her tongue slid across his and probed at his cheeks and traced over his teeth set his nerves on end, in the most delectable, spine-tingling way imaginable. He moaned into her mouth, the pure, overwhelming need for her taking over him.

Still kissing her, he used both hands to grasp hold of Alex's and pulled her upright into a sitting position. The tone of their kiss had slowed, receding into something much more tender, more passionate, and yet still heated enough that Matt felt like his very skin was on fire. He slid his body up to kneel over her, his legs straddling her lap and his lips never leaving her mouth, and very carefully slid the open vest off her shoulders and down her arms. The bra soon followed, and once he got it unhooked, both pieces of clothing were dropped on the floor next to the bed. His fingers played with the tiny zip in the back of the skirt, and with some quick but slightly awkward rearranging of limbs, the two of them worked together to remove the final bit of clothing hiding her full form from his gaze.

No longer burdened with any offending garments she'd have to take off, Alex kissed him again, desirous and smiling and teeth nipping playfully at his bottom lip. Her hands strayed to his chest and her nails raked their way slowly, tantalizingly, down his torso, coming to a stop only at his waistline, where she slipped her fingers into the band of his pants. They were now the only barrier between the two of them.

Her eyes met his, aflame with emotion: passion and need. Lust and devotion. Hunger and eagerness. They all swirled across her face, her intention perfectly clear. "Let's get you out of these now, hmm?" she said teasingly, smile curling devilishly and she brushed her fingertips against the head of his straining erection.

Matt could do nothing but grin wolfishly at her, his smile breaking wide across his face. His hands went to his waistband, fingers grasping hers and guiding her to help him in pulling his briefs down. As soon as he was free of the constricting underwear and had kicked them off the bed, he pounced, knocking Alex back to the mattress, forcing a shocked, giggly burst of air from her lungs.

He flattened himself over her body, his mouth devouring hers, and she met him with equal fervor. Lips furiously met lips, tongues slid together, hands wandered, stroking and squeezing wherever they could reach. The urgent need to keep going, to cap off this blissful evening, to slip inside her and fuck her senseless, was overwhelming. After all the foreplay here in this room tonight, after all the rising and coiling tension all day in front of the crowds, after years and _years_ of flirting and teasing and fantasizing, he simply couldn't wait anymore.

He broke from her kiss and rolled to the edge of the bed, reaching for his discarded jeans. He pulled his wallet from the back pocket and dug through it until he found the small foil packet he'd been looking for. He turned back to Alex, who was watching his every move with fascination and hunger. With precision, heated gaze focused steadily on her face, he tore the packet open and slowly and deliberately rolled the condom over his erection. He could feel the anticipation coil up in the both of them, the room suddenly feeling much quieter, like the seconds would be counting down on the wall if only he were to turn his head.

He crawled back over to her and settled before her on his knees, regarding her carefully, suddenly hit with a jolt of uneasiness. She was laid back against the pillows, legs spread before him, and her hands were tracing soothing circles into the skin of her own stomach. His thirst for her felt nearly unquenchable and Alex certainly didn't seem to be in any better of a boat, but he had to make sure. As much as he would have been happy and grateful enough to take just the one night with her even just earlier today, he now hoped beyond hope that tonight would be the start of something amazing. He couldn't have her regretting jumping into bed with him once she reached the light of day.

"You sure about this?" he asked quietly, eyes locked on her.

Her eyes widened very slightly and her fingers stilled. "Don't tell me you're thinking about stopping now? Because I have to say, darling, if you do, I may just have to kill you." He could see the twinge of alarm in her eyes, worry that he was changing his mind about this whole thing, but she chose to hide her insecurity behind false bravado.

Not wanting those insecurities validated for even a moment, he furrowed his brows into the most non-aggressive scowl he could manage.. "Not of your life, Kingston!" he huffed down at her. A moment later, he let both his gaze and his voice soften. "I just wanted to make sure you weren't having any second thoughts," he confessed. "I'm rather hoping for a few repeat performances going forward." He lowered himself down over her, propping himself up on his hands and knees and watching the micro-expressions on her face close up.

Her meticulously shaped brows pinched together fleetingly. "How many repeat performances, do you think?"

"It might be jumping the gun a bit to say a lifetime's worth, so for now, I'll settle for 'as many as you'll have me for,'" he admitted honestly, with a tiny shrug. "But I know you. And I don't wanna scare you off by jumping into all of this too fast. I need you to be sure. I don't think I could handle going back to the way we were before, not the friendly flirting and not the barely keeping in contact. I just... don't want you regretting this in the morning."

Alex smiled softly up at him and brought one hand around to the back of his neck, scratching gently at his nape and then tracing down his jaw to cup his cheek. "Matt, the only way I could wake up tomorrow regretting tonight was if I thought _you_ had."

"That's _not_ gonna happen," he said adamantly, shaking his head. He turned his head and pressed a kiss to her palm. "Not ever."

"There's only one way for you to start proving that then, isn't there, darling?" she asked coquettishly, one leg wrapping around his arse and tugging him closer to her, knocking him down so that he was pressed flush up against her, hips aligned almost perfectly with hers. "Fuck me," she commanded.

All too happy to follow her order, he positioned himself at her entrance and with one slow, determined thrust of his hips, he slid exquisitely, inch by inch, into her slick heat. Alex gasped beneath him, and Matt dropped his head to her chest, nearly choking on a groan of pleasure. Sliding into Alex felt akin to coming home at the end of a long day, relieving and comforting and revitalizing, all wrapped up into one big swirl of perfection. Once he'd sunk all the way inside, he paused. Not so much to give her time to adjust to his intrusion as to give them both the opportunity to breathe and gasp together, to adjust to this great new step they'd taken together, long overdue and even longer anticipated.

Finally, at the urging of her bucking hips and piercing nails on his biceps, he started to move. He moved purposefully, each stroke of his hips making Matt dizzy and bereft of any air in his lungs, each stroke wringing a cry of pleasure from Alex's lips, each stroke sending them both impossibly higher. It felt like he were destined to be right where he was, cradled between Alex Kingston's legs, joined with her in the best, most intimate way possible, one step closer to infinity with every oh-so-deliberate thrust of his hips.

Alex kept her one leg slung snugly over his backside, squeezing her foot into him rhythmically with each downward motion of his pelvis. Matt hooked his arm under her free knee and lifted, angling her leg up and giving himself more room to move. He sunk even further inside her, sliding deliciously into her soaked center. He moaned and dropped his head to her chest, face burying in her breasts, as he continued to move over her.

Instantly, Alex's hands were at his head, scratching lightly at his skin, but it was soothing, helping to relieve the sweeping need burning a trail through his every vein. He felt her lips at the top of his head first and then her ragged, shaky breath fluttering over the skin of his forehead. "God, you feel _amazing_ , darling," she gasped. "You fill me up so perfectly. I can't believe we waiting so long to do this."

"Shit, Alex - _fuck_!" Matt groaned into her chest, peppering kisses into the valley between her breasts, smothering the half-uttered declarations slipping from his mouth. "You're so perfect like this, so wet and hot and sexy. I wish we'd started doing this years ago. You could have been _mine_ this whole time." He raised his head to stare into her eyes as he said the last bit, watching the subtle shift of emotion in her gaze through the cloud of pleasure.

"And you could have been _mine_ ," she said softly, between labored breaths.

Matt huffed out a small laugh, unable to spare the breath needed for a larger one as he kept up his slow but forceful pace over her. "I was always yours, Kingston. That was never a question."

He felt her walls clamp down on his cock, throbbing at his words, and Alex simultaneously gave a keening cry of pleasure, clutching desperately to his arms and clenching her eyes shut against the onslaught of emotion and pleasure.

Spurred on, Matt picked up his pace, thrusting into her harder, faster, pistoning his hips, wanting nothing more than to coil her up tighter, impossibly higher. His cock pounded into her, fast and forceful, the angle just right to reach the special place deep within her that kept the string of needy, frantic moans coming our of her mouth. His length slid rapidly in and out of her, the pace and the sensation of her slick walls clamping down on him exquisite and perfect and so close to setting him off. But not yet. As close as he was, there was nothing in the world he wanted more in this moment than to reach that magical moment of release with Alex right there alongside him.

"Fuck, I'm so close, darling!" she moaned, her voice breaking and a bit hoarse. Her hips jutted up to meet his, rocking along with the furious rhythm he'd build them up to. "Please, Matt, please don't stop!"

"Never!" he panted, pushing himself up onto his elbows, making it easier to watch her face. He clenched his hands into fists on the sheets, just below her head, but allowed his thumbs to jut out and trace the bottom of her jaw tenderly. "I'll never stop. I need you right there with me. Tonight and again tomorrow and then the day after - I don't care if I need to sneak you into a broom closet between panels - and then every day you'll have me after."

"Yes!" she shrieked, cries echoing off the walls. "Yes, Matt, I need you! I always have! Please!"

The flush on her chest was rising and all the assorted parts of her - her legs, her arms, her cunt - were all wrapping ever-tighter around him, propelling him further, harder, faster, pumping his hips like his very life depended on it. All the while, the fervid heat indicative of his upcoming orgasm tingled down his spine, starting the slow crawl to his balls, making his need to see Alex come all the more urgent. And he told her so.

"Jesus, Alex, I'm so close. I don't know how much longer I can hold out for. I need to see you come for me, with my cock still buried inside you nice and tight. Please. Please, sweetheart, just let go."

He didn't know where the term of endearment came from. It slipped unbidden from his lips, his brain too otherwise occupied to fully comprehend it before it was too late. He'd always just called her by her name, either first or last, depending on the moment, and it felt strange to use anything else. But he'd always adored the way that her "darlings"s would slip so easily and effortlessly from her mouth around him and this had just felt right. At the same time, he knew somehow that it wouldn't be a pet name he'd share with anyone else, it would be one that he kept close to his chest, intimate and personal, just for the two of them to share when entwined together in bed. A private sign of his utter devotion he could slip like a whispered secret into her ear whenever she was on the verge of breaking apart, just like now.

Whether it was his continued movements within her or his desperate pleas or the unexpected nickname that worked, Matt wasn't sure, but before he knew it, there she was - thrusting and shaking and _screaming_ , shouting his name and a series of yesses which made him feel very grateful that Salome and Freema were having a night out on the town instead of sitting in a neighboring room. That thought did nothing to deter his own release. As highly strung as he's been, the sensation of Alex coming around him, the sound of her shrieking his name as he kept on pumping his hips, the feel of her nails clutching painfully into his shoulder blades, was all he needed to reach the fiery, blinding light of orgasm. He gasped her name out, once for each of the final thrusts of his hips, the last shout just as loud as the first but pushed from behind his gritted teeth.

Once he'd spilled the last of his release inside her warm, frantically clenching walls, he collapsed on top of her, sapped of any energy. He and Alex panted together, each robbed of their breath, and her fingers climbed the few inches to card through his prickly hair.

He luxuriated in the feel of it for a few moments, feeling an almost subconscious need to push his head more insistently into her hand and purr like a cat. Instead, he summoned a show of energy he honestly hadn't thought he'd possessed and levered himself off of her, laying on his side and supported on an elbow, finally cognizant of the fact that he may well have been crushing her. Alex, for her part didn't even acknowledge his movement, moving her hands along with him to keep stroking at his head.

Matt leaned in and kissed her, delicately, gently, imparting all the words, all the feelings, he wanted so desperately to express but couldn't. Because it was too soon, because they were out of breath, because he'd already said it earlier, because he didn't want to seem desperate or clingy. Because - he hoped - she already knew. He kissed her and sent all those thoughts to her, his fingers holding her jaw, brushing his thumbs over her cheek softly.

When they broke apart, Alex was smiling brightly, eyes twinkling, and that only made Matt's natural grin spread all the wider. He twirled his fingers in her hair, playing with her curls, only now starting to feel his heart rate start the return to normal.

"Blimey, Kingston, that was... was..."

"Amazing?" she supplied helpfully, grinning at his attempt to root around his brain for the right word and barely containing her light, bubbling giggle.

"Amazing, yes!" he agreed happily, planting a quick kiss on her lips in celebration. "Amazing!Excellent! Stupendous! Life-affirming! All of the above!" he listed off, delivering a kiss for each descriptor.

Alex laughed and pushed her hand against his chest, motioning for him to lay on his back, where she proceeded to rest her head on his chest, tracing letters and likely-foreign words he couldn't decipher into the skin of his stomach. It felt so right, the feeling of pure bliss almost unfathomable. The rush of his orgasm was still signing pleasantly in his veins, and Alex Kingston was curled up in his arms, exactly where he'd wanted her for far longer than he'd ever been willing to admit before.

They lay there silently, luxuriating in each other for a few minutes, the silence pleasant and comforting rather than deafening and suffocating. But eventually, Alex's fingers stopped their movement and he felt her sigh lightly, her breath tickling the hair on his chest and making his squirm.

"So... what do we do now?" she asked, her tone gentle and curious, somehow, thankfully, without the hint of hopelessness and unease he'd half been expecting.

"Well..." he started, pretending to think over his answer seriously, "I'm all for public snogging at the next event. That would sure be a hell of a way to start a convention, right?"

She slapped his chest, doing her best to hold back a rather adorable snort of laughter. "I'm serious, Matthew! Where do we go from here? Confessed feelings and a stolen night in a hotel room, clear across the world from either of our homes, while my daughter is away for the evening, is one thing, but what happens when we go back to our real lives? What happens tomorrow?" She posed her question to him, as if unaware that he'd do anything at all on her behest, as if unaware that he left the ball squarely in her court, willing to do any and everything she wanted just to keep hold of her.

"I think you know what I wanna do," he answered with a shrug of one shoulder she could probably only feel and not see. "I wanna give us a go. A real go. I mean, I want more than that, but I think that's a nice, reasonable place to start, don't you? We'll make the distance and the scheduling work somehow, I don't care what I have to do. Giving us a chance, after all this time, after tonight, is more important than all that to me. We'll make it work."

"And what about Salome? She's _here_ with us. She's not stupid, she'll be able to suss us out, I'm sure, especially once Karen gets here tomorrow and they're both watching us like hawks. And don't think I didn't feel the marks you left on my neck. What do I tell her?" She bit her lip, obviously worried.

Matt considered her options. "I feel the need to point out you haven't exactly left me mark-free either you know. And mine aren't so easily covered, I might add. But the way I see it, you have two choices," he started, arms encircling her waist, hugging her to his chest more securely. "First, you can cover it all up with make up - which you'll honestly probably do anyway because otherwise the questions at your next panel are going to get _very_ personal - and wear something to help hide them - I graciously offer the continued use of my jacket, if for no other reason you look insanely sexy in it - and just hope she notices nothing different between us. Or you can tell her the truth - or a teen-friendly version of the truth at least - which is, of course, that after an evening of me being _utterly_ irresistible, you took it upon yourself to snog me senseless, earning yourself a new permanent fixture in your life."

Alex gaped up at him, a rebuttal on her lips, before realizing that she couldn't. "Good Lord, you're _incorrigible_!" she cried, slapping once again at his chest. He laughed and swatted her hand away, then took hold of it, clutching it possessively to his chest for safe keeping.

"What? It's the truth!" he chuckled.

She only huffed good-naturedly and shook her head, sending her curls flying under his nose. "I suppose if we're really, honestly doing this, for real, there's no harm in telling her _something,_ especially seeing as it'll probably be difficult to completely hide for the rest of the week, with us all bundled up in such close quarters in these hotel rooms. Which means," she said thoughtfully, fingers skating now over the center of his chest, playing gently with the delicate hairs she found there, "that the continued use of your jacket won't be necessary and I won't have cause to shamelessly steal it and bring it home with me forever. Thank you though." She pressed a kiss right over his heart.

He laughed, hugging her to him again. "Anytime, Kingston. And for the record, feel free to steal my clothes any time. I think, under the circumstances, it's your new inherit right."

"Well that's certainly good to know," she said seriously. "It means that in an hour, when I have to head back to my room to meet Salome, and that purple tee you were wearing today has gone missing, you won't be under any false delusions about where it went."

He gaped at her, his stomach twisting with a very strange combination of amusement and the faint stirrings of arousal. He imagines her swiping his shirt, the shirt he wore on the night he finally got her in his bed, and wearing it around the house or to the airport or the store. Or to sleep. He shook his head fondly, indicating he was more than all right with her plan, and was then silent for a few moments. His mind drifted to a conversation from much earlier in the day, where the flirting had run rampant and images had burned themselves in his head while sitting on a stage for all the world to see his distraction.

"Speaking of, what you said earlier, during the panel - about that shirt you stole from me that once - were you just teasing... or do you really still have it?"

She cackled wickedly, eyes glinting. "I think I'm going to leave that one to your imagination for a while, darling." Sensing his disappointment, she conceded. "I think you'll have to come out to LA sometime _very_ soon and find out for yourself."

He opened his mouth, ready to promise her a visit at the absolute earliest chance, but she didn't even give him the chance, cutting him off and continuing on her own.

"But I think it would be safe to say that, like the shirt you wore today, it was soft and worn in just perfectly and smelled just like you - at least for a while - and when you find sleep shirts as glorious as that, you don't tend to get rid of them any time soon."

It was just as good as an admission - better even, with the wonderful mental images seared into his brain, now made permanent by the knowledge that they were _real_. He may have come twice already tonight, but those early stirrings she'd inspired only a minute ago were already swelling. He couldn't tell if he actually had another round in him just yet, but God willing, he was wasn't opposed to trying. He pulled her into a hungry kiss, his imagination fueling the growing fire in his gut, relishing the sinful smile she kissed on his lips.

They may have been across the world from where either of their lives were centered, as Alex had pointed out, but it was here in Perth that Matt thought he'd finally found home, right here in this hotel room, Alex held soundly in his embrace, her enthusiastic kiss sending shots of electricity through his body. Tomorrow and next week and next month, they could figure out all the details, how to make this newfound relationship work, but for tonight - for the next hour at least, he was more than content to simply bask in the perfection that was Alex and the knowledge that even when she left the warmth of his bed, he had plenty - hopefully a lifetime - of repeat encounters left ahead of him.


End file.
